Whether it is we ourselves or someone we love who receives a diagnosis of terminal illness –– the news stops us in our tracks. In that gap, our mind stops. After that, our mind may run in different directions––fear, grief, or shock set in . . . .
Meditation on impermanence and death is a profoundly helpful practice when done properly, without a “poor me” mentality. Looking directly at the impermanence and fragility of life can save us from arrogance, the numbing effects of an attitude of entitlement, and from greed, all of which depend on holding onto the notion that we are immortal and that our ”stuff” is permanent.
It’s no secret that our personal associations with the holidays can bring us sorrow as well as joy. Extremes of happiness and sadness may have good cause.
People have been asking me how I recommend thinking about the threats of Ebola, ISIS, and climate change. As these threats begin to seem more immediate and personal, we tend to feel more afraid.
Last year about this time my wife and I saw the movie, Lincoln, directed by Steven Spielberg. November 19 is the 151st anniversary of the Gettysburg Address (1863).
I’ve just been watching the antics of the award winning French cat, “Henri the Cat”. There are now 3 episodes on YouTube. Henri even has his own store!
“…but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” Voltaire May Rep. Gabrielle Giffords recover. May the families of the injured and dead in Pima County, Arizona find peace and renewal.
I didn’t! Mother’s Day has always been a time to appreciate and show gratitude to My mother, to My wife as mother, or to any mother I might see that day, saying, “Happy Mother’s Day!”
Healthy grief also bestows on us a tender heart of compassion for all beings, because our loss makes us vividly aware of their (and our own) fragility. There is another mental process that is also mistakenly labeled as grief. This kind of grief, however, hardens our hearts and makes us bitter. This is not true grief, and it is not healthy. When we experience such "bitter grief" we suffer unnecessarily.