This post is inspired by a recent talk I heard from my friend Clovice Lewis, an astounding musician and minister in training with the Unitarian Universalist community.

Compassion arises when we recognize suffering and motivates us to act out of care and concern to help relieve the suffering we see. Our capacity for compassion is locked into our human nature--everyone has this capacity and the capacity can be grown. So, not only does compassion and kindness serve us by nourishing resiliency, it can be used as a means to the end of injustice and inequity.

But, first, we need to understand more about compassion. It takes four stages to allow compassion to help heal and prevent injustices and inequality:

1. see  suffering
2. relate to the sufferer
3. grow our circle of inclusion and care, and
4. take action to end suffering and prevent future suffering

They’ve succeeded, you know.

Pitting brother against brother
Sister against sister
Race against race
Gender identity against gender identity
Sexual orientation against sexual orientation
Political party against political party
Economic system against economic system
Religion against religion.

It’s all a ploy, you know,
It really is.

To hold power and
     support oppression
that strengthens
that power.

Daily outrage
Atrocious diversion
Personal attack

Justified anger!
Incite violence!

Threatened revolution
Shock doctrine!

They’ve succeeded, you know.

Like millions of predecessors.
Same formula.
Same process.

Pitting brother against brother
Sister against sister
Race against race
Gender identity against gender identity
Sexual orientation against sexual orientation
Economic system against economic system
Political party against political party
Religion against religion.

You know it’s true.

Indoctrinate the oppressed
    to oppress
       the oppressed
with oppressor’s standards.

It’s all a ploy, you know,
It really is.

Justified anger!
Incite violence
    against injustices.

The real injustice?
The real tragedy?
  
The people
    have been
       duped (sidetracked) again.

Wake up!

Wake up!


© JoAnn Saccato, 2020

I was inspired toward an inner inquiry after I excitedly welcomed the first bloom on a Passion flower in my yard. I was so mesmerized the first time I saw one of these markedly distinct flowers, I immediately conjured up the belief that they had to be from another planet! The plant in my yard is chock full of blooms for the first time in the three years I’ve tended it.

The bloom arrived simultaneously with the second phase of opening in our community, and a push to clear away 7+ years of ivy overgrowth and thick forest duft in preparation of the upcoming fire season and to reveal--to open up--the all-elusive forest floor.

All this prompted me to inquire: All this opening going on, I'm curious, what is opening up for me? And what about others--what is opening up for them right now?

Rather than go into a long written inquiry, I decided to go inward with a mindfulness practice and explore directly what was opening in my heart, mind and body.

(You can explore a guided version of this practice HERE.)

I planned a hike up Cobb Mountain, which happens to be the mountain I live on and tallest mountain in the Mayacamas Mountain range in Northern California. I chose a Friday during the shelter in place period of the Covid-19 pandemic even though I was warned by my partner, Jim, that it would be hot. He recommended waiting a day or two, but my intuition was strong. It said ‘no, Friday.’

Thursday of that week came and it was an unusually difficult day. I took on the weekly shopping for us, as Jim is in a high risk category for the virus. I went to five stores and each excursion entailed wearing a mask, using alcohol soaked wipes as gloves to touch anything in the store, being hyper aware of social distancing—which is next to impossible when isles are less than six feet wide, and then spraying everything with alcohol once at the car.

Equanimity, that deep sense of peaceful well being, is highly sought after in these days of social and emotional turmoil. Now more than ever, as our hearts, minds and bodies are being taxed with our present conditions, we are seeking refuge. We are all looking for a break from what is happening, much less a perpetual state of calm mind amidst anything disturbing.

How can I attain peace in this moment? How can I get to equanimity? How can I hold onto it?

There’s usually a litany of actions and steps that come to mind that may include trying to create certain conditions, or to stop or change what is  happening in our bodies, homes, workplace, communities, nations, and the world. We think the answer lies somewhere in struggling and wrestling with current conditions, trying to bend them to our liking or stop them completely.

As it turns out, while there are things we can actively do to help this deep pleasant peacefulness that we call equanimity arise, it’s actually a different and more restful path. 

Loving kindness is a simple but powerful practice we infuse into our mindful practices. It can arise naturally as a response to the inevitable difficulties we all share as humans—suffering from illness, pain and loss; impermanence; and the impersonal nature of these things. But it is an important practice to cultivate loving states that can help us through difficulties. And, as it turns out, it can also be used as a protective factor, helping to lessen unnecessary suffering from arising in the first place.

Loving kindness develops out of our natural compassion and compassion is really just love’s way of responding to suffering. It is that welling up desire we have that moves us to help end the pain and suffering we witness; to help in some way.

In light of the recent Corona Virus pandemic and the rapidly changing conditions and requirements for safety, I am moving all of my offerings online for the time being. It quickly changed from just a few days ago offering an OPTION for online participation to needing to cancel all my in person engagements. It's a matter of safety for us all.

The flexibility required during this time reminds me of when I was a passenger on a friend's 40-foot sailboat for a two-week inter-island sailing adventure in the state of Hawaii.

We launched from Honolulu towards Moloka'i on a calm sea and within moments I felt nauseous. I grasped onto the boat rails and stiffened my legs and arms, intent on holding on and stopping the motion my body was experiencing.

It wasn't working and within a few minutes upon seeing my struggle, my good friend, Jake said, "Just let go. Holding on actually makes it worse."

But, I couldn't! I had to control this or I was going to throw up. Jake knew better, being a seasoned seaman, explained that by letting go, and, yes, possibly throwing up, I would eventually feel better and be more likely to withstand the journey.

Needless to say, within a short time, I threw up all over the tiny head in the cabin and, embarrassed, laid on the floor, stomach empty but churning, cleaning up the vomit as the boat tossed and turned as we made way to the open waters of the Pacific.