I would like to quote from a New York Times bestseller “Real Happiness-The Power of Meditation” by Sharon Salzberg. Workman Publishing, New York 2011. “My experience is what I agree to attend to,” the pioneering psychologist William James wrote at the turn of the 20th century. “Only those items I notice shape my mind.”
A grandfather, occasionally a grandmother, imparting a life lesson to a grandson tells him, ‘I have two wolves fighting in my heart. One wolf is vengeful, fearful, envious, resentful, deceitful. The other wolf is loving, compassionate, generous, truthful, and serene.’ The grandson asks which wolf will win the fight. The grandfather/grandmother answers, ‘The one I feed.’
But that’s only part of the picture. True, whatever gets our attention flourishes, so if we lavish attention on the negative and inconsequential, they can overwhelm the positive and meaningful. But if we do the opposite, refusing to deal with or acknowledge what’s difficult and painful, pretending it doesn’t exist, then our world is out of whack.
All forms of meditation strengthen and direct our attention through the cultivation of three skills, concentration, mindfulness, and compassion or loving kindness.”
And now let’s meditate in the fashion that you are accustomed. You might like to dedicate this meditation practice to those affected by the pandemic or you might have some other worthy intention.
(Meditate for up to 20 minutes.)
As we go about our daily activities I hope that by our attention, our awareness in the present, we will find joy in the midst of the losses brought about during this pandemic. Peter