Dear Friend,
Happy Sunday. I hope that whenever you are reading this message, you’re finding moments of compassion in your inner life and also reflected in your outer world.
Often through this week, I have struggled to find those moments. The violence and destruction in the world can feel consuming.
One of my teachers reminded me that during the time when Siddhartha Gautama lived, there was also unfathomable political turmoil, hatred and destruction.
Yet in his quest for equanimity and inner peace, Siddhartha transformed into the Buddha.
Each of us has the ability to transform, to search deep in our inner landscape and find strength and hope, faith and love that we never knew existed.
Now is an ideal time to find the depth of our compassion.
I love The Wild podcast with Chris Morgan—it’s about the wonder and resilience of nature and how we humans can better understand ourselves as part of nature. This week’s episode focused on silence in the natural world and he shared about the evidence-based benefits of silence for reducing stress and stimulating brain growth.
This conversation made me consider how much time I had been spending in the opposite way–getting sucked into endless hours of watching tv news or reading inflammatory posts on social media.
Hours watching news reports, reading analysis of the war and doomscrolling was doing the opposite of ireducing my stress–this behavior was increasing my despair.
I decided to take a nod from Chris Morgan. I don’t live deep in the woods but I am fortunate to live in a neighborhood with lots of old, tall trees. I have places nearby that get pretty quiet. I can walk Odin, my Saluki companion, and embrace the human sounds of cars and construction around us as part of our landscape.
I can seek the quiet outside of me and maybe find some quiet inside. This week, seeking quiet feels like a compassionate choice.
Today’s writing prompt is your invitation to make some space for silence. Find a tree friend. Pour out your heart. Repeat.
Writing Practice: Set aside 5-7 minutes for this practice. Write in a journal or open a ‘Journey with The Season’ document where you can return each Sunday.
Prompt: Today’s prompt works in two different ways–choose the one that works best for you.
Pack up your journal and pen. Head out to your outer landscape. Whether you live in a city, suburb, small town or rural setting, seek out a place where you can find quiet. Look for a tree that you admire, appreciate or connect to. Sit near the tree, open your journal and pour out your heart. You might start with Dear Tree, I am sad about…frightened of…hoping for. Write whatever comes up. Stay with your tree for as long as you like and thank your friend for their company.
This prompt also works without leaving your home. Engage your active imagination to picture a tree that you remember or one that you create. Let yourself see the tree in full and vivid details. Engage in the same prompt as above, pouring out your heart to this tree.
I’d love to read your expressions. Leave a comment here or email me your response at gabriellekm@gmail.com.
Deepening Practice: Keep a compassion journal this week. Write down moments when you offer yourself compassion for your struggles and experiences, when your inner voice is kind and loving. Add moments when you offer compassion to others. Notice how writing down these moments affects your mood and energy.
Please join me for an hour on Monday, November 20th, 7:30pm (eastern time) to share creative prompts in real time!
The session will be recorded for your convenience.
Invite friends and fellow creative spirits to join us!