Hello friends,
In early December of 2024, we began exploring the 4 qualities of the heart known as the Brahma Viharas. They are also called the Four Faces of Love, or The Four Immeasurables—because they can help us to experience the four facets of limitless happiness.
You may recall the first 3 Immeasurables: Loving Kindness (friendliness, metta), Compassion, and Sympathetic Joy.
These first 3 Immeasurables guided our recent Three Tuesdays Together Series on Zoom—at the link, you can read an overview of each session, view recordings of Sessions 2 + 3 (Session 1 was not, unfortunately, recorded), and find links to my letters about loving kindness, compassion, and sympathetic joy from December – just look for those words linked in the text.
Now, finally, we come to the 4th Immeasurable: Equanimity.
Heaven knows right now in these chaotic, painful times, we can use some equanimity and serenity. These are the times we have been practicing for. These are the times from which we can gather strength and balance, offering to ourselves and others goodwill and compassion—and don’t forget to see the big and little joys that persist! In all of that, find some moments for equanimity. All things arise and will pass away. Let’s not waste the opportunity brought by crisis.
The state of equanimity is not a fixed, stagnant state of being to which we aspire and acquire, rather it is a practice—and as such, we find ourselves in balance and out of balance. A little explanation….
Like tree pose in yoga, we are sometimes grounded, centered and at ease. Other times, we find ourselves reactive, out of sorts and ill at ease. One is not better than the other, despite our preference, but this is life! Our practice helps us notice when we have drifted into indifference, boredom and lackluster, and we notice we are off balance. Likewise, we notice when we are clinging to our desires—wanting life, ourselves, and others to be different.
The invitation is to use our Mindfulness practice to be aware of reactivity or shutting down, as well as aware when we feel a sense of equanimity. We might think of equanimity as “being okay” with things as they are (maybe just in one moment); a sense of peace not due to external circumstances, but due to our ability to return to homeostasis.
Much love,
Kate
Serenity is not freedom from the storm,
but peace within the storm.
(Author unknown)