Set the Compass of Your Heart
You need a reliable compass to set your direction and steer through the rough waters when you are going through hard times, when you’ve been betrayed, when you’ve lost your job, when you’ve lost friends or loved ones, when you’re in conflict with your family, or when you’re going through illness.
But how can you set your direction when you can’t see any clear harbor? And how can you navigate through difficult waters when you’re swamped by overwhelming emotions, when so much of your awareness is taken over with trying to figure out who’s at fault and who did what to whom, or creating stories about who’s wrong and who’s right and why?
When we’re overwhelmed by a difficult situation, sometimes we know we’re behaving in a way that is only making matters worse, but we don’t know how to stop.
No matter what situation we find ourselves in, we can always set our compass to our highest intentions in the present moment. Perhaps it is nothing more than being in a heated conversation with another person and stopping to take a breath and ask yourself, “What is my highest intention in this moment?” If you can have enough awareness to take this small step, your heart will give you an answer that will take the conversation in a different, more positive direction. With simple steps like these, you can behave in ways that at least will not fuel your difficulties—or anyone else’s.
Whatever your difficulties—a devastated heart, financial loss, feeling assaulted by the conflicts around you, or a seemingly hopeless illness—you can always remember that you are free in every moment to set the compass of your heart to your highest intentions. In fact, the two things that you are always free to do—despite your circumstances—are to be present and to be willing to love.
Adapted from A Lamp in the Darkness: Illuminating the Path through Difficult Times by Jack Kornfield © 2011. Reprinted with permission of Sounds True.
This teaching is exactly what I needed to hear. I am in conflict with my family ever since my mom went in a nursing home. Everyone is fighting over who does what or some family members are doing more for my mom's care than others. It is hard enough dealing with my mom's decline when everyone is fighting. Thanks for reminding me that I don't have to engage in the fight, that I have a choice in how I respond. I can always stop and ask for a time out and take a deep breath and focus on what is best for my mom.
The life condition of buddhahood, brought forth from within our lives, allows each individual to raise his or her head above water. Next comes treading water, or daily practice, in order to maintain enlightenment. Look! Above and beyond! The North Star. Mindful of the ten directions, you can truly navigate.
"In fact, the two things that you are always free to do—despite your circumstances—are to be present and to be willing to love." These words, and this intention on a daily basis, has saved my life and is allowing my true self to emerge after decades of being suffocated under layers of psychological and emotional masking. What a beautiful way to interact and connect with the world.