Compassion in all Weathers

When there is compassion in my heart, there is kindness in my words. But how to stay compassionate, to keep open the doors of my heart in all weathers.

Some days, there are rainbows but not without storms. As one passes, another forms–the unknown–its forces full of fear. Impermanence.

I rely on its inevitability–impermanence–immersing myself in the energy of the experience. Some storms are so similar déjà vu is in the air but familiarity only means I have not yet accepted what I am given.

Sometimes, that means storm after storm but each enriches my life, broadens my perspective. For me, acceptance is often a long moment, requiring repeated experiences.

I feel anything but powerless. If there’s always another storm, there is always the center of calm. Not all are hurricanes or tornadoes, some just thunder and lightning. And wind, lots of wind.

It is not mine to escape the experience of the storm but to remember the calm of the eye. The Buddha taught suffering and the end of suffering. He did not say there is no pain.

Of that, there is no escape–it is its own storm–but does it need to become a hurricane? To live only in its eye wall is to suffer endlessly. To immerse myself in the experience of the eye wall is to move through it.

To reach through the fury for the calm, to sit in the core of being. Pain is a storm that passes. Each time, I sit a little longer.

Aim for Even posts offer equanimity a dose at a time. No day or dose is ever the same, even if the aim is. You may read about the origins of Aim for Even here or on this site’s About page.