Holding On to a Breath

Everything is in a constant state of flux, ever-changing, continuously moving. In our comfort with the known and worry about the unknown, we often wish things would stay the way they are even when they are not ideal.

But the reality is that we cannot hold on to life and stop it from changing.

Breathe in and then hold your breath. Do not let it go, do not breathe out. How does this holding of your breath feel? In a matter of seconds, holding on to our breath becomes increasingly uncomfortable. At some point, we cannot help but expel that breath. 

Just as we cannot hold on to our breath, we cannot keep change from occurring. Change is as natural as our breathing in and breathing out.

An Aspiration

So long as space remains,
So long as sentient beings remain,
I will remain,
In order to help, in order to serve,
In order to make my own contribution.  

~ Buddhist Vow 

To Help Others

If we allow ourselves to be pulled down by our sadness, regrets, and disappointments, we will never be able to help others. To help others we need to learn from our mistakes and decide how to do better next time. Then with joy that we have another opportunity to do better, we seize the moment to practice as we have been taught.

Unity

In separateness lies the world’s great unhappiness.
In unity lies the world’s true strength.

When we try to accomplish something by ourselves, many tasks can seem insurmountable and hopeless. If instead, we join with others to achieve our shared aspirations even that which seemed insurmountable can become possible. By working together, that which connects all of us is awakened with the insight that in reality there are no barriers of religion, race, ethnicity, gender—just oneness—just unity.

Good Fortune in Disguise

If we tell ourselves that something which has happened to us is bad, we will react in a negative manner. We might think "Why me?" or perhaps "What did I do to her?"

Try not to act from aversion. It is said that we should turn afflictions into bodhi, into awakening. We can use this unfortunate experience to deepen our understanding that nothing is real, that everything is temporary and changing. And if something is ever-changing and unreal, then so are our unwise reactions to it.
 
Also, sometimes, what we first thought was misfortune turns out to be good fortune in disguise.