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My mood feels like the weather as of late, bouncing between breezy spring days, and mournful late winter blizzards, unsure of what season to settle into.
There is so much coming at us right now, so much change to adapt to on a seemingly daily basis. Many puzzle pieces to try to assemble into something recognizable as we wait for what lies ahead in the next news cycle. Yet, amid all the chaos and challenges to our great social contract, there are still tender moments of presence and the holy that I am fortunate enough to witness in my friends, between strangers at the park, with my children, and the occasional random acts of kindness that restore my sometimes wilting faith in the fundamental goodness of humanity. It is necessary right now to have evidence that love and compassion are still alive, particularly among strangers. Of course, we may have to look a little more diligently than before for moments of courtesy and warmth. These occasions are quiet and unimposing. They don’t command the spotlight or the news cycle with as much gusto as the fear mongering and hate. They don’t insist on being scrutinized and debated before being digested. They require no acknowledgement at all. They simply are. Kindness necessitates stillness, some quieting within ourselves to see these gentle moments properly. Having found that quiet, we may further discover ways to initiate our own small acts of kindness and care, reminders that we don’t have to ascribe to judgement or vacuous noise - reminders that civility, respect, and dignity still matter. How might this look in practice? Gestures both grand and small from paying for the coffee of the car in line behind you, to not cursing the driver that just cut you off in traffic, bring a salve to the soul of both the giver and the receiver. A nod of acknowledgement or welcoming smile when we pass others in the street, seeing within them the bright soul that they are, and not their affiliations to one group or another. We know how to do this. It shouldn’t be hard to remember compassion, to help where help is needed, to be tender and generous. After all, as the Dalai Lama once answered, “My religion is very simple. My religion is kindness.” This is a faith we should all share in. Blessings on your journey, Louisa
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How are you doing in these uncertain times?
The past month has seen a whirlwind of activity at the national level that can’t help but touch us all deeply as institutions we once relied on begin to shift and sway in the strong winds of autocracy. These are not the times of stability and prosperity in which we might have chosen to live. These are the times in which we are buffeted about in the choppy waters of the incoming storm, the safe harbor too distant to reach in time. How do we manage these times? How can we find rootedness when the Earth herself is shifting beneath our feet? I continue to find some comfort in looking through the lens of history and recognizing that we are but one moment in the expansive human story. It is our nature as human beings to always seek comfort and pleasure, and to be continually dissatisfied and striving for more. It is the rare moment when we feel that all is right with the world and, when that precious gem has been found, we believe we can possess it always. But just as all phenomena arises, so all phenomena fades. Now is the time to honor that everything not only is impermanent but has a rhythm of its own – we are in constant flux. Spring to winter to spring, life to death to life, expansion to contraction to expansion. It has been so always. If we can take a step back out of our own personal story and open the aperture wide enough to see the whole of humanity with humility, we see that these events are, in a way, as inevitable as the changing of day into night and back into day. It is hard to recognize that we are once more on the precipice of these critical lessons. Surely, we must have learned by now the cost of communal narcissism, bigotry, and fear by now. The question that lies before us is what is our duty in these times? How do we keep the hearth fires of compassion and inclusivity burning so that when the pendulum does swing back, we are ready to repair the damage that has been done, fortify those shaky foundations, and prepare for the next onslaught. Because there will be another. It is the undeniable, cyclical nature of things. The question then becomes less “How are you doing in these uncertain times?” and more “What are you doing to remain fierce in the face of cruelty and hatred?” How will you show up to keep the memory alive of not only what once was but what will certainly be again? Blessings on your journey, Louisa |
AuthorLouisa has always enjoyed writing and is thrilled that she now has a way to share her musings with a larger community of like-minded seekers. Her writing is often an extension and exploration of the struggles she faces in integrating her own spirituality, scholarly study, life experience, and nuggets of brilliance from her teachers in the hopes that it might alchemically transform itself into something approximating wisdom. Archives
March 2025
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