Cultivating Equanimity

Namaste y'all!

Yesterday I saw Tara Brach, a renowned Vipassana meditation instructor. Tara is a psychologist and expert on Buddhist meditation. It was my first time attending anything of the like and it was amazing. 

She began by sharing a poem called "The Little Duck" by Donald C. Babcock.

Now we are ready to look at something pretty special.
It is a duck riding the ocean a hundred feet beyond the surf, and he cuddles in the
swells.
There is a big heaving in the Atlantic.
And he is part of it.
He can rest while the Atlantic heaves, because he rests in the Atlantic.
Probably he doesn’t know how large the ocean is.
And neither do you.
But he realizes it.
And what does he do, I ask you.
He sits down in it.
He reposes in the immediate as if it were infinity – which it is.
That is religion, and the duck has it.
I like the little duck.
He doesn’t know much.
But he has religion.

She went on to compare the continuous waves to life--we can either fight it or we can sit down in it. As humans, we're wired to want to push away or fight unpleasantness and hang on to pleasantness. It's very hard to sense when we're getting pushed and pulled around by waves but when it happens, the best thing to do is to start naming what's going on and be open to how that feels. The duck can move with the swells of the waves (as opposed to being pushed and pulled) because it's not taking anything personally.

She also shared a quote I really liked: "A truly happy person is someone who can enjoy the scenery on a detour." It's the realization and acceptance that those moments are just as valuable. A heart that is ready for everything.

Finally, the last story she shared that I'll include here was about a man who accepted the impermanence of life and found profound love in his acceptance.

"Do you see this glass? I love this glass. It holds the water admirably. When I tap it, it has a lovely ring. When the sun shines on it, it reflects the light beautifully. When the wind blows and the glass falls off the shelf and breaks or if my elbow hits it and it falls to the ground I say, of course. But when I know that the glass is already broken, every minute with it is precious." 

Tara has many of her sessions available for free to listen/watch on her site. So far, I've listened to "Be Who You Are" and was moved to tears at least once. 

Finally, I learned of Tara through my amazing friend Zack Beach. Zack is the same friend who recommended me the life-changing book "Non-Violent Communication" by Marshall Rosenberg. I highly recommend checking out the book and Zack's blog!

Caroline