I never lack for ideas but that doesn’t mean I don’t welcome hearing other people’s ideas for my columns.
Here’s one from a friend I just had coffee with –
after not seeing for over 20 years.
Thanks JBuc.
Think quickly:
In two words, describe 2020
In two words, describe 2021
(Try to leave out profanity:)
Thank you.
Send your replies to: irisruthpastor@gmail.com
And now for this week’s column:
It’s been a roller coaster week of emotional ups and downs.
Intense and exhausting.
One family member having surgery
Plus getting the opportunity to spend time with each of my seven grandchildren after so many months of separation.
My four granddaughters and my three grandsons range in age from one year to fourteen years. And I recognize their varying degrees of connection to grandparents as they grow, change and develop:
A one-year-old’s tentativeness
A three-year-old’s adoration
Middle schoolers’ varying interest
Teenagers’ growing preoccupation with friends, social media and the outside world
When my emotions run high, as they did this week, I turn to my Calm App with Tamara Levitt to lower the intensity of my feelings. And this week, I explore more deeply some terms she recently introduced:
Sati,
Hakuna Matata,
Shamatha,
and Gluggavedur
When I first looked up Sati, I was shocked to discover that it was a Hindu practice where upon the widow throws herself upon her deceased husband’s funeral pyre and perishes too. Geez. That’s a little too much sacrifice for me.
I prefer the Buddhism Sati, which is a state of mindfulness. The first step is simply setting an intention to cultivate awareness and to return to that intention again and again. The second is observing your thoughts, feelings and sensations as they arise.
The benefits of mindfulness are many: increased self-control, objectivity, tolerance, flexibility, and equanimity plus improved concentration, mental clarity, and emotional intelligence.
Mindfulness also engenders an increase in kindness, acceptance and compassion for ourselves. It requires us to recollect our experiences with focus, clarity, compassion and acceptance. The result? A lack of judgment or interpretation of past actions viewed through a less harsh lens.
Many have first heard Hakuna Matata from The Lion King and are aware of its meaning: No worries. There are no problems here.
Worrying is a harmful habit that shows up during unwelcome times – like when we are trying to sleep. In The Lion King, Simba blames himself for his father’s death and is ashamed to go back home – a friendly cat, recognizing that Simba has to move forward, introduces him to Hakuna Matata.
Worry can be ingrained. To change, we need to notice when we are worried –– step outside of it – and question if our worry is helpful. Think of worry as useless as “a handle on a snowball.”
From the song:
Hakuna Matata!
What a wonderful phrase
Hakuna Matata!
Ain’t no passing craze
It means no worries
For the rest of your days
Yeah, sing it, kid!
It’s our problem-free philosophy
Hakuna Matata!
Shamatha is a Buddhist term often is translated as tranquility of the mind. This is not to be confused with the Yiddish word schmatta which is an old and ragged piece of clothing!!
Shamatha is slowing down our minds and calming down so we can observe and understand – kinda like disengaging from thinking.
Imagine dirt and water: Dirt settles and becomes less muddy. We then can see what is going on.
Shamatha focuses on the rising and falling of our breath and feeling every drawing in and releasing of it. And when the mind wanders, we bring it back to the breath with the goal of liberation from suffering.
There is no comparable term to Gluggavedur in the English language. Too bad. It literally means “Window Watching Weather.” This means weather that is best appreciated from the comfort of indoors – from a protected distance.
This Icelandic term means weather that is nice to look at, but not nice to be in. Imagine we are safely inside, sipping hot cocoa, while looking out the window during a terrible storm:
Lighting and thunder
Frigid wind and torrential rain
Violently wrenching trees
In a comparable manner, Gluggavedur is a way for us to move through difficult emotions. In mindfulness, we observe our inner storms in the same way we view the storms outside our windows. We create a bit of space around our swirling feelings, which makes us better able to calmly face our sentiments as they arise and subside.
In a month that is known to “come in like a lion and go out like a lamb,” here’s to upcoming weeks of calm both inside and outside our windows.
Keep Preserving Your Bloom,
Iris Ruth Pastor