Meditation for Troubled Times

  Why is it important in times of turmoil to maintain a calm attitude? Is calmness sometimes just a sign of indifference? I wonder about this myself.
   I am noticing that if I read a news story where the headline is very excited and has a great deal of judgment behind it, I will tend to get agitated or excited myself. But one of the interesting things I also notice is that it tends to make me a more constricted person, not 'passionate' at all. Contrary to what some might think, I actually believe that getting agitated over others' emotions, or becoming 'swept away' in a general sentiment around me, only makes me feel tight and narrow. And more importantly, it doesn't give me the space or room I need to breathe and think clearly on my own.
   I have to confess that I am not much of a news reader, and it's only been in the last few weeks that I have noticed a lot of political stories in the news, particularly online. As much as I have sometimes enjoyed the political rallying, I also get a sense that things change quickly, and there is no need for me to stick to one thing that arises, when it is part of an unfolding series of events. I am starting to feel that it's better to take my time and try to figure out what all this media really means, rather than allowing my emotions to get riled up over what might be only one of many conditions that are unfolding.
   Meditation is something that I think would greatly benefit myself and others at this time. I am not necessarily talking about a classic form of meditation, such as huatou or sitting in a full lotus posture. Rather, I am talking about a simple ability to attend to a simple action or process (such as the breath) without getting caught by attaching to thoughts and narratives. Sometimes, 'just sitting' is enough, because it breaks the kinetic connection to our thoughts and emotions, and allows them to dissipate on their own. Compared to what I experience when I simply follow the words of a news story and attach to it, meditation allows me not to be attached and to create that crucial buffer between thought and reaction, between reaction and action, emotion and motion.
    By the way...my phone is still cracked (see previous entry!). But the sales clerk at the repair shop was nice enough to appraise my self-inflicted mess and advise me to go back to my phone company and see if I can possibly invest in a new phone.  I will keep my cracks for now, thank you very much; they remind me that I am not all I am cracked up to be, that I am fragile, and breakable. They remind me also that I am fallible, fall-able, droppable and throwable, perhaps even throw-away-able. And knowing this reminds me of my humanity and sometimes my blindness in seeing my very own nose when my mind is preoccupied or rushed.