Mindset: Empathetically Ignorant. I had issues sleeping and found myself online and "doom scrolling." It made me realize how fortunate I am to live where I live and have what I have. It also made me revisit the challenge of being detached from the experience of loss, pain, suffering and cruelty. If I lost a loved one in a car accident today or was crippled in one myself, or had hoards of militants surrounding our streets for the sole purpose of killing every occupant on sight, would I be able to face and endure that with a calm acceptance as an aspect of nature? I think I would experience the same grief, sorry, heartbreak and panic as anyone else would. Having or striving to have a broader sense of acceptance of the random chaos of life is easier from a place of calm and stability than from a place of terror. So many people live in a place of anxiety and terror, while I do not. It puts a lot into perspective while not changing a thing about our civilization's lack of civility and humanity's capacity for inhumane acts. Nor the simple fact that every day may include an unexpected circumstance that throws our personal world upside down. Knowing this consciously does not mean one hides wringing their hands in anticipation of the worst. It means being aware of and grateful for the opportunity to experience all of the good times, including loving somebody or something with such an intimate connection that their suffering or the loss of them can hurt so deeply. That is the mindset I seek the ability to maintain through any situation. Yet I recognize fully that it may prove easier said than done.
Goals: Deepbow dharma talk, Jikoji newsletter.
Anticipation: an evening home with Jen
Wants: To use the power of full perspective to prioritize my personal time better.
