Joyful Participation In The Sorrows Of The World

What a year this has turned out to be!

In January, none of us expected 2020 to be the year of a deadly pandemic, street riots, impeachment, unemployment, contested elections, earthquakes, hurricanes, fires and murder hornets. I am keeping an eye on Boulder Creek to see if the water turns red, in which case we'll know we are dealing with historic changes of biblical proportions!

But are things really that bad? Are we not enjoying our basic human needs like food, shelter, and security? Do we not feel more alive today despite all the challenges we face, or are we acting like a deer in headlights, killing time while time is killing us?

Who knows what’s ahead or how long this Dark Night of the Soul will last. Who knows if this chapter of history will be better or worse than 1919 when, while barely recovering from a nasty World War, we got hit with a much deadlier pandemic, a Great Depression and more. History is full of dark chapters substantially worse than what we are experiencing today, most of which are now minor footnotes in our evolutionary history.

In light of the above, I believe the best strategy for times like this is to study the Stoic’s ideas and realize "The Obstacle is the Way”; to study Buddhism and realize the cause of all suffering is attachment to our ideas of how things should be, instead of going along with how things are. Most importantly, the best strategy to cope at times like this is Joyfully Participation in the Sorrows of the World, and god knows we have plenty of that.

— Sina.