Just For Today: I'm Overwhelmed
For Tired, Disgusted & Overwhelmed Advocates
You know, occasionally when we sit down to work with the precepts, all the difficult feelings bubble up because right now, the world is flat out OVERWHELMING. The precepts can feel impossible because we are dealing with such huge emotions, a never ending torrent of misinformation, awful news and knowledge of people and animals suffering all over the globe.
It can feel disingenuous to ignore that we might feel awful inside and just say “oh yes, happy, happy, joy, joy, I am love and light and never feel bad.” Hogwash. This isn’t what the precepts ask of us or what it means to have a human experience. Rather, they invite the conversation, acknowledging and embracing these difficulties. When we push challenges away, it actually leads to more internal suffering and less love in action. Contemplating the precepts helps us access the still point of our true, loving nature so we can process the world, embrace our experience, and move forward in compassion. We are able to continue our work as change-agents, advocates and beacons of light.
It’s is okay if contemplating the precepts looks like this:
Just for day,
I will not bear anger. But I am angry.
I will not worry. But I am horrified.
I will be grateful. But I don’t feel good about things.
I will be diligent in my practice. But I am tired.
I will be kind to every living thing. But I am frozen with disgust.
If that is the case, try these precepts instead:
Just for today,
I will let the roots of my anger reach into the soil so they can blossom into meaningful action for animals, people and planet.
I will embrace the many worries, fears and heartbreak that I experience for animals and transform them into the energy of compassion, opening my heart and letting love flow outwards towards every living being.
I will be grateful for the animals spirits that I have come to know in my lifetime, and the ability to use my gifts to speak, create, write, advocate and act on their behalf. I am grateful for community spaces that connect me with others who strive to do the same.
I will be diligent in my advocacy and spiritual practice, seeking knowledge and community as well as making time to time to rest & restore my courage, resilience and strength for this work.
I will continually open my heart in the face of challenges, to be living example of walking with compassion to restore a peaceful world for animals, Mother Nature and people, too.
Feel the difference in energy of each statement. Pick one line, or a few lines that resonate with you the most and write them on an index card. Keep it close. Turn to your community.
Through Love, practice and community, everything is possible.
In Peace & Solidarity,
A.C.
This work is possible alone but when we come together in community, oh how our strengths amplify.