Dear friends,
In times of fear it can be harder to sit to meditate.
Our minds are racing.
We can feel down and even depressed.
When this happens we can be frozen into mindless routine.
We lose our sense of priorities.
We do everything but the one important thing that needs to be done right now.
Yet in times like this we need to break the pattern by stopping and sitting.
The sitting does not have to be for long but we need to sit to break the downward spiral of fear,
That inner anxiety that we cannot quite put a finger on but we feel it there in the pit of our stomach.
We do not want to stop.
We are afraid to stop but we need to stop.
So welcome to this meditation which is your invitation to sit and stop for a few moments when I hope you will rediscover inner peace.
I invite you now to enter your quiet space,
The corner where you usually attempt your meditation practice.
Leave the phone to one side,
Sit in your quiet chair and take up a position on your cushion,
Whatever makes you feel comfortable.
Close your eyes,
Breathe in,
Breathe out.
With each breath see if you can bring yourself to a deeper position of quiet and calm.
Just breathing in and just breathing out.
Leaving everything else to one side just for now.
All is well in the here and the now.
An opening thought.
May this time and place be a shelter for you.
When you come into this place may all the weight of the world fall from your shoulders.
May nothing destructive ever cross this threshold.
In this place may you be tranquil,
Blessed by a peace that the world cannot give.
May this be a lucky place where all your heart desires may find a pathway to your door.
Let's take a break.
A short break to step off the treadmill.
Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh advises if we suffer it is not because things are impermanent,
It is because we believe things are permanent.
He says when a flower dies we don't suffer much.
We understand that flowers are impermanent but often we cannot accept the impermanence of a beloved one and we suffer deeply when the person passes away.
By becoming aware of impermanence we become positive,
Loving and wise.
Let's now send out loving kindness to anyone who is finding difficulty with current changes or maybe even finding just a general pace of life difficult to manage.
May all who face change today find the support they need to cope with that change.
May they find courage to face the future with hope.
May all who face change today be free from all danger in their new situation.
May they be well in mind and body.
May all who face change today find themselves in a place of ease and at peace.
So now let's have a pause in which we seek the serenity to accept the events in our lives that we cannot alter.
May we seek the courage to change the things we can and should change.
May we gain the wisdom to know the difference.
When a disciple once asked the Sufi mystic Rumi,
What is fear?
Rumi replied,
Fear is non acceptance of uncertainty.
Fear is non acceptance of uncertainty.
If we accept uncertainty it becomes adventure.
Now it can be frightening to abandon the familiar and to realize that we are not in control.
Our anxiety doesn't come from thinking about the future,
It comes from wanting to control it.
Attachment also causes us to fear loss or change.
We can be attached to people,
Attached to material things,
Attached to our jobs,
Yet everything changes.
Human beings always share a finite time together.
Nobody knows when their shared time with someone else is going to come to an end.
Some relationships can end because of changed circumstances but in the end all earthly relationships end when a loved one passes away.
Non-attachment enables us to live every relationship with love and joy knowing that it could end at any moment.
We often cling to pleasure hoping that it will stay and we are often overwhelmed by pain,
Fearing that it will never go away.
Non-attachment helps us to enjoy the beautiful moments without being played by the fear that they will end because we know they will end.
Non-attachment helps us to endure the difficult moments knowing that this too shall pass.
Acceptance of change helps keep us balanced.
In the good times and the bad we need to recall these words this too will pass.
Fran Brady sums up our situation in these two lines.
But who can hold the crimson dawn or stop a sunset yielding to the night?
Let's have another pause and see if we can resolve to be less attached.
This does not mean being less loving,
Less appreciative.
Awareness and acceptance of uncertainty and change enhances our appreciation and our love.
Our closing prayer today is from Interfaith Prayers and Blessings.
May I come to understand that blessings are everywhere,
That my attitude will affect outcomes,
That challenges are often gifts in disguise.
May I come to trust that most things can get better with time,
That my instincts and good feelings have value,
That a positive attitude makes things go smoother.
May I come to see that I have many skills and talents I can use,
That I am a positive influence on many people and that there are those around me who wish me well.
May I come to value that today is a blessing,
To be enjoyed,
That each person is unique and important,
That each moment of my life has meaning.
Namaste.
You
