What Do We Need to Heal?
Regardless of your political perspective or how you feel about the outcome of our presidential election and its aftermath, it’s clear we need healing and unity in America. I believe that although the road to healing will probably be like one of our single-track trails in West Virginia—bumpy, rocky, and filled with roots—we’ll figure it out.
Survival is in our human nature. “We the people” are resilient creatures. If we weren’t, we wouldn’t be here. Indeed, we live in an era when our survival depends more on healing among the collective than on personal, or individual, healing.
Yet the work of healing must begin within each of us individually. As we consider how we’ll each navigate holidays during a pandemic, how we’ll foster connection with family, neighbors, and colleagues who hold view that may differ markedly from our own, we’ll need to consider which inner gifts we want to bring to the collective table.
It may feel normal to bring a sense of loss, longing for our usual way of celebrating. It may feel justifiable to bring judgement and anger, because of the unprecedented turmoil this election has revealed about the state of our country. It might feel natural to bring doubt, when we simply don’t know what the future holds.
Alternatively, we have the option to move away from these habitual patterns. We have the option to bring gifts based on our innate resilience. Ancient yoga teachings reveal much about the innate capacities of all people. In the Yoga Sutras, compiled by Patanjali between 500 BCE and 400 CE, we learn about the Yamas: five universal aspects of human nature. The first and primary Yama is Ahimsa. Ahimsa teaches that the capacity for compassion is within each of us, and that when we practice reverence and love for all, we experience a deep connection with all beings.
What if we choose to bring compassion, reverence, and love for all to our holiday tables (whether they be virtual or in person)? What’s the risk of acknowledging a shared sense of humanity with people whose views may be very different from our own? What might open up if we let go of judgement and focus on growing our capacity for love?
If we choose to focus only externally, on the news, on negativity, on the actions of others, and miss this opportunity to look internally, we may never heal this divide.
How, then, do we take the courageous steps we need to bring real gifts this season, like genuine inner states of peace, tranquility, love, and acceptance? We practice Ahimsa. We look for the good in all beings. We wish them well. We see more commonality than difference. We cultivate honesty within ourselves to excavate judgement, fear, and doubt in service of courage, love, and unity.
Practicing Ahimsa doesn’t mean that we’ll get it right every time. Yet if we practice, we’re more likely to get it right more often. Practicing Ahimsa can take many forms. A few practices to try: loving kindness meditation; looking people in the eye and seeing the good; journaling about the good qualities you see in others; gently redirecting inner dialogue that includes judgement—whether towards someone else or yourself; volunteering to help those less fortunate (this last has a bonus if it brings you into contact with people who harbor different points of view).
Challenge yourself to practice Ahimsa this holiday season. Choose a practice that feels right for you and stick with it. Do your best and be kind to yourself when you’re off track… gently remind yourself to return to practicing Ahimsa. Enjoy the journey, see what unfolds. I believe you might be surprised by all that we are capable of.