I thought I was prepared for just about anything on this trip. I packed clothes that I can wash in the shower and dry on hangers in my room. I have a rain coat that I’m ready to pull out if needed. I have all my daily meds, and even my electric toothbrush. So imagine my surprise while sitting in the sunshine this morning enjoying a cafe con leche (or rocket fuel as I think of it) when I had a moment of melancholy. Now normally, I’m not one to get “down”. I’m more likely to get angry than down.  And yet there I was in the midst of this glorious walk feeling down. So what do you do? Tell yourself what an idiot you are? I’m usually being idiotic about something anyway, so I know that doesn’t help. Yell at yourself to stop it? Don’t think about pink elephants. Give in and be down? Really not my style.
How many times in the middle of a great day, or doing something with the family that is really fun, have you found yourself suddenly down? I’m not talking about clinical depression, just off a little. How do you handle it? Years ago when I first starting sitting zazen at the Cincinnati Zen Center, I had the opportunity to visit with the Zen Master (Zen Master Dae Gak) and had asked him something that started with, “what do you do when …” or, “how do I handle this …” His answer was simple and delightfully on point. He said, “Awareness is curative”. I understood the words when he spoke them, but wasn’t sure how they applied to the situation. Like most beginning practitioners, I wanted the zen wisdom of the ages. And actually I’d gotten it, I just didn’t recognize it. No matter how good (or bad) things are going, mind will always try to control all situations. It’s what mind does. Some distractions will happen with thoughts, some distractions will happen with emotions. But if, when we find ourselves unexpectedly “down”, we just stop and become aware of what’s happening without trying to “fix” the situation, you may find the simple act of being aware has the effect of lessening the impact of what’s happening. I would suggest that generally speaking, bringing awareness to what you’re doing is a good practice to cultivate. As it turned out, I sat with the melancholy, said “hey what’s going on”, and turned my face back to the sun, because it felt really good. Then I put the pack on and pushed myself hard for a couple of miles and got a good light sweat going. Back to being grateful for another glorious day.

Carlene Jones writes: “I work in Care coordination. I’ve been with St. Elizabeth Hospice for three years, but have been in hospice care since 1995. From the beginning I felt compelled to do this work for a variety of reasons, the strongest being my belief that God designed us to live and die well. Sometimes our interference (medically speaking) makes things worse for the patient and family, whereas with hospice we facilitate dying peacefully and naturally while supporting the patient and family. I don’t view our work as end of life care, but as “living care”. We treat the whole person, and their family, not a disease or process. It is a blessing to be able to care for the entire family unit at such a critical time in a person’s life journey”.

If you haven’t taken the opportunity to give yet, please consider a gift of $5 to help this wonderful organization. On the Help St. E hospice page, scroll to the bottom and follow the link to their web page. In the “other” box, put $5. Directly under that box, drill down on the menu and choose Walk with E. Thank you, and know your gift helps a great deal.

Buen Camino