Meditating through transitions
Using equanimity and mindfulness during times of change
It is said that the one constant in life is change. Transitions are sometimes difficult and we grow in many ways as we experience times of change. Everything changes — from the seasons, our health, our thoughts, our bodies, to our perspectives on life. The way we understood and thought of life as children is not what we understand as adults. We continue to learn and evolve as humans based on what is going on right now and how we relate to each situation.
Equanimity is a way to work with change that helps us accept transitions with grace and patience. Equanimity is defined as, “mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, especially in a difficult situation.” How do we bring mental calmness and composure to difficult situations? Life can be really challenging, and many times it seems we will never make it through. Equanimity helps us bring ease and acceptance into stressful and unpleasant experiences so that we are at peace no matter what changes come into our lives.
In an article in Lion’s Roar, entitled “Finding a Better Balance,” author Christiane Wolf writes about how equanimity can protect us from emotional overreaction and allow us to rest in a more balanced perspective. She explains a few things we can do to bring equanimity into how we relate to life.
• Be willing and able to accept things as they are in each moment — whether they’re challenging, boring, exciting, disappointing or even exactly what we want.
• Equanimity should not be confused with indifference. Equanimity isn’t gritting your teeth or white-knuckling it. Rather, it’s caring deeply with acceptance and non-reactivity.
• Equanimity and mindfulness are closely interwoven and mutually reinforcing. Through mindfulness we can observe the flow of thoughts, feelings and sensations in the body without having a kneejerk reaction.
• Living life in a conscious way will make us more equanimous over time but we don’t have to leave that up to the worldly winds. We can practice it deliberately. Ultimately, our equanimity isn’t only good for us, but also for everyone we encounter.
This month’s practice is a group contemplation on change. We sit together in a circle and one person shares the reading while everyone else listens attentively. Then, we all answer the final questions and discuss together how we can bring equanimity to changes in our daily life.
Anne-Marie Emanuelli is the founder and Creative Director at Mindful Frontiers LLC, an education-based mindfulness meditation center offering workshops, classes and coaching for children, families, individuals and classrooms. For more information, visit MindfulFrontiers.net.