Hello Dear Friends,
What do you see in the photo?
Here in the U.S., it’s that time of year again for pumpkins, costumes, and candy—and an opportunity to see ghosts hanging out the windows of my daughter’s apartment in New York City!
Also approaching soon is the Day of the Dead—or “Día de los Muertos”—a Mexican tradition in which family and friends gather to pay respects and remember those who have died.
The celebration takes on a festive quality as families recall humorous things about loved ones who have passed.
For others, it will soon be All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, honoring the departed across the ages whose souls have reached various levels of purity and cleansing.
Two themes come to mind:
First, reality vs. illusions, and fear of the unknown or unknowable (like election results).
We get to play this edge at Halloween, pretending to be superheroes or goblins or princesses, thinning the veil between our everyday lives and identities, and the unseeable and unknowable that lies beyond the thinking mind and bodily senses.
Second theme: the reality of death, which in our culture we try to avoid and ignore, or consider an injustice. We can cling to the illusion that we will live forever.
Granted, there are early deaths or sudden deaths that are tragedies, but what if we softened our view and began to face death as a normal event, like the little deaths we experience daily: the biking that used to be easy, or the unfulfilled hope that we’d get a job…or have a child…or be able to travel?
We may find ourselves having to come to grips with losses, and choosing either to flow with them or live in resistance to what is.
We often resist and continue to suffer because we did not “get what we wanted.” But we can always remind ourselves that there is another way.
Remember: Whatever it is that you are resisting is already here.
Maybe you didn’t ask for it or want it, but you will only suffer more by refusing to see clearly what is real.
It doesn’t mean you might not take wise action, but begin by seeing clearly and finding some ease in body, mind and heart.
That’s all for now, dear friends, so keep your mind open and don’t let your brain fall out. In other words: these are challenging times, take care of yourself.
Much love,
Kate
“At ease with ever-changing circumstances”
A practice for any time, any place
*
Every time you notice you are resisting what is…
(you will know because your mind is not still, and your body is tense)
…pause.
Take a long, slow, easy exhalation
and offer yourself this phrase:
“May I be at ease with ever-changing circumstances.”
For those who wish to go deeper, this is available on my website:
EQUANIMITY PRACTICE
(8 min)
And a song to soothe your soul along the way:
Sing to Me, by Red Molly
My favorite line: “Please use any means to shift the way I’m seeing things…”
