Tag: equanimity

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Equanimity

Equanimity is having a sense of balance, calmness and steadiness regardless of circumstances. With equanimity in place, it is easier for compassion to take root, to accept others as they are without judgment, and to truly embrace the impermanent nature of life and its cycles. That we do not need to resist nor cling on.

Days of Equanimity, Jyoti Prateek

Days of sorrow and days of joy
Follow each other in some heavenly ploy
But days of equanimity are precious and rare
With neither hope nor despair

Filled with wisdom these days I seek
Neither too bright, nor too bleak
Where troubles melt in the fire of knowledge
And the mind is free from all its bondage

Where the heart is filled with love and grace
And the soul finds a resting place
On days of equanimity, the world is clear
The mind is calm and the heart sincere

A sense of peace and balance is found
A harmony with all that surrounds
The past is left behind, the future unknown
And in the present, all is shown

The beauty of life appears in all its forms
The joy and the sorrow, the warmth and the storms
These days of serenity show the meaning of life
As we embrace poise and let go of strife
Troubles and worries fade from sight
As we bask in tranquility bathed in light.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Haci Elmas, Unsplash

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Freedom

Freedom lies in going back to our pure, original being, unshackled by automatic thoughts, fleeting emotions, and physical sensations. They are after all just that – thoughts, emotions and sensations, not us, not our future.

Staying at peace, happy or steady regardless of circumstances empowers us to make choices based on our true values and intentions rather than out of fear and habitual patterns. We live life according to our rules, our voice. 

Freedom, by Langston Hughes

Freedom will not come
Today, this year
            Nor ever
Through compromise and fear.

I have as much right
As the other fellow has
            To stand
On my two feet
And own the land.

I tire so of hearing people say,
Let things take their course.
Tomorrow is another day.
I do not need my freedom when I’m dead.
I cannot live on tomorrow’s bread.
            Freedom
            Is a strong seed
            Planted
            In a great need.
            I live here, too.
            I want my freedom
            Just as you.   

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Lynda B, Unsplash

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Responding To Worrying

Worrying is a natural reaction of the mind and body. We de-compartmentalize by firstly noticing with equanimity and curiosity what and how we add to our worries – the stories we tell ourselves. Then, noticing how worrying is felt in the body, and breathing in and out of that sensation, taking long exhales. And finally as best as you can, letting be, letting go. The poetry “I Worried” by Mary Oliver comes to mind. 

I worried a lot. Will the garden grow, will the rivers

flow in the right direction, will the earth turn

as it was taught, and if not how shall

I correct it?

Was I right, was I wrong, will I be forgiven,

can I do better?

Will I ever be able to sing, even the sparrows

can do it and I am, well,

hopeless.

Is my eyesight fading or am I just imagining it,

am I going to get rheumatism,

lockjaw, dementia?

Finally, I saw that worrying had come to nothing.

And gave it up. And took my old body

and went out into the morning,

and sang.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Diana Parkhouse, Unsplash