Keep The Faith
- Give Up Hope and Keep The Faith
- Executive Coaching
- What I’m Watching
- What I’m Reading
- A Poem, by Mary Oliver
- Half Day Meditation Retreat
“Abandoning hope is an affirmation, the beginning of the beginning.”
– Pema Chodron
We are doomed. We don’t seem to be able to find a way to live peacefully on this planet. There is little sign of a serious appetite to solve, or sometimes even acknowledge climate change. And we are testing the limits of how inexperienced, dishonest, and corrupt our world leaders can be.
On a more local and personal level, Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki describes our lives as like pushing our boats off the shore and out to sea, with full knowledge that one day our boats will sink.
At an even more personal level, one of his instructions for meditation practice is that with each exhale we explore the act of giving up our expectations or any hope that there will be another inhale. “Let yourself die with each exhale.” He suggests. If by chance there is another inhale, meet this inhale with an attitude of surprise and amazement — ”Oh, I’m alive.”
There is a curious power and an opportunity for radical well being and acceptance in these practices. Giving up hope can shift our state of mind from expecting a particular outcome to being more open or even amazed at what we might discover, right in front of us.
Another Zen teacher Pema Chodron says “Abandoning hope is an affirmation, the beginning of the beginning.”
Giving up hope is an act of courage and affirmation. It is a way of curtailing our subtle and not so subtle sense of predicting dread, of doom, of catastrophizing, of worrying about the future, of living with low level (or high level) of stress about an uncertain future. It’s too late. Stop worrying and instead, be present, here, aware, and alert.
Practice
I’ve been reading Extraordinary Putting (stay with me here…) by Fred Shoemaker. He observes the freedom and fluidity of golfers putting strokes when they are practicing their stroke, with no ball. Then put a ball down, and hope and expectations emerge. The stroke changes, a little or a lot — for the worse. It is not as smooth or steady. In fact, the hope of hitting the ball in a certain way, the expectation of a “good” putt and the fear of a “bad” putt results in a lack of ease and presence. The book is filled with exercises to show how we tighten and distract ourselves, and provides practices for being more present for what we are actually doing – seeing the ball, hitting the ball, with greater awareness and presence, with more ease effectiveness.
Being aware and present for the act of putting is aligned with what Shunryu Suzuki is doing in meditation instructions. Easy to say, and not so easy to practice – be here now, no other place and no other time. It takes practice.
Try this meditation practice. Here. Breathing in, I know that I’m breathing in. Breathing out, I know that I’m breathing out. Let go of hope and expectations.
Keep The Faith
Hope can mean many things, as can faith. While the suggested practice here is giving up hope, don’t give up faith — faith in your heart, in your goodness, and in the goodness of the heart and hearts of the world, of truth over lies, of right over wrong.
As in the Buddhist vows: Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to end them.
Do keep the faith, your faith.
Executive Coaching – Two openings
My day job is working with CEO’s and business leaders as an executive coach. I also do leadership trainings and facilitate offsite meetings and retreats. My coaching practice focuses on:
- Cultivating more clarity, wholeheartedness, and effectiveness
- Communication skills, mindfulness-based emotional intelligence, and team building
- Radical well being and decision-making
If you are interested in exploring a coaching relationship, or know someone who is, you can reach out here or directly at marc@marclesser.net. I currently have two openings.
What I’m Watching
Pachinko – I just began watching this Apple TV show and am amazed by the creativity and heart. It focuses on a Korean family’s struggles and resilience through love, identity, and survival across decades, from Japanese-occupied Korea to modern Japan. The series explores themes of cultural displacement, and the pursuit of belonging amidst historical upheaval.
What I’m Reading
Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone, by Deborah Madison – This is my go-to book for most of my cooking these days. Beautifully designed and inspiring.
A Poem
When I am Among the Trees, by Mary Oliver
When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.
I would almost say that they save me, and daily.
I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.
Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”
The light flows from their branches.
And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.
Half Day Meditation, Sunday February 2nd
From 9:00 a.m. – 12:30, sitting, walking, a short talk, and discussion.
In person, Mill Valley and Online.
Warmest regards,
Marc