On Mindfulness, Transforming Anger, Practicing Peace, and Making a Difference

This morning, I found a post entitled "Mindfulness and Transforming Anger" at The Dream Life. It started me thinking about what matters and what doesn't. While listening to Ram Dass and Thich Nhat Hanh (two of my favorite people) discuss this topic -- I found the video clip both timely and perfect. I decided immediately to mention the post here, and to add a sidebar link at Sacred Ruminations so I (and others) can return easily to be reminded as needed in the future.

While I was at You Tube I discovered the following related links. I believe each to be well worth the time required to watch and listen whenever time permits. Thich Nhat Hanh speaks on Living in the Present Moment, Mindful Walking, and Peace in Every Step. The first two are a few minutes long. The last video link is more than an hour in length, but resonates so truly with my personal experience and beliefs that I opted to include it for anyone who cares to listen.

My "ex" was drafted in his mid-twenties and spent 13 months in Vietnam ... returning alive, but forever changed. In turn, my own life was altered. He was a social worker and I an educator. We did what we could with what we had to effect change in positive ways, yet we each spent many years frustrated and angry at the recognition that the main thing to be learned from history is that we don't learn from history. In the early 70s, I recall attending a meeting of a group called "Beyond War" based on an Einstein quote to the effect that war is obsolete. A story was shared there (leaving me with a vivid & long-lasting image) in which people were sitting together in a room filled with barrels of gasoline. Each person held a book of matches, but no one was foolish enough to strike one because doing so would destroy themselves along with everyone else. The older I get (and, of course, I'm a dinosaur) the more I realize that carrying anger & frustration doesn't help solve much of anything.

(Hmmmm ... that reminds me of a pink t-shirt I used to wear often that said something like "Never try to teach a pig to sing" on the front and "It wastes your time and annoys the pig" on the back) ... but I digress and my mind wanders easily these days. Forgive an old broad, please? :-)

While listening this morning to Ram Dass and Thich Nhat Hanh, I recalled that a couple of days ago I left a comment elsewhere on a different (but similar) topic and I share an excerpt here because it captures the essence of how I'm changing (with more effort than I care to admit) and articulates my current belief about how to make a difference which could lead to resolution of the difficult issues of our time. I quote myself here ...

"If we could just accept that we're not "alone" but rather "all one" we'd each do what's necessary to resolve the world's problems recognizing "we're all in this together" ... especially since we've seen earth from space and know how "precarious" life can be ... and we've learned that butterflies in Zimbabwe affect weather on California's coast. I have this image in my mind of a giant jigsaw puzzle and each of us is a piece. When we get lost (or fail to show up and get connected) gaps exist that no one else can fill."

One thing I know for sure from personal experience ... change begins with each of us as we gain awareness of what's within ... learn to own, honor, and live as congruently with our convictions as possible ... find ways to understand ourselves and others ... practice compassion & kindness while we pay attention to the results of our thoughts, words, and deeds as reflected in our relationships with others.

There are many paths, tools & habits to assist and/or guide our journey. A COURSE IN MIRACLES states "when the student is ready, the teacher appears" (and vice versa). It also assures us that all it takes is "a little willingness" to be open to the possibility for change. Don Miguel Ruiz offers a simple (if not easy) path through THE FOUR AGREEMENTS. Hundreds of others point to ways to begin ... and practice ... each moment ... to awaken to and embrace truth as we understand it in each moment.

I'm reminded of Thailand Gal's Blog Blast for Peace ... and perhaps this is my version? I offer it here for your consideration and comments.