Compassion and Equanimity

This is my bench. I paid for it several years ago when the Council were tarting up Porty Prom. I had liked memorial benches for a long time, fascinated by who has been here before. The ones I like the best make me smile and make me glad to sit there. The plaque on my bench says:

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside
Oh I do like to be beside the sea
For Mr and Mrs WhiskyFoxtrot
The best parents a prairie gal could wish for

My mum used to sing this song to me when I was little and she sang it the one time she came to Portobello. I hope that when people read the plaque, they smile at the memory of the song.

Someone suggested a series of photos of people who sit on the bench - watch this space. And yes, the third line is made up.

Tonight was my last class on the four Brahma Viharas, the sublime abodes. Tonight was equanimity. We explored cravings and aversions, the stuff that keeps the wheel of samsara turning, alongside delusion. We had some practices that were difficult. Some uneasy stuff came up. That's ok by me because meditation is meant to be transformative. The end of the class was sweet and I will miss our little gatherings.

After I came out of the class I got in my car, turned on the radio and heard about the terrible event in Woolwich. What a time to practice equanimity. This is when compassion hits the road. A friend on facebook said it was impossible for her not to feel hatred and anger. All that came to mind was the wonderfully wise words of Martin Luther King Jr.

"Darkness cannot drive out darkness;
Only light can do that.
Hate cannot drive out hate;
Only love can do that."

This is when our humanity is put to the test. My heart goes out to the family of the victim; to the woman who risked her own life to comfort the victim; to the police who, faced with armed men chose to shoot to maim rather than kill; to the NHS staff who are treating the men in hospital; to the police and court officials who will see these men receive a fair trial. My heart also goes out to these two men. I don't condone their actions and I don't understand them but they are still part of our human family.

Wishing you all love and light. xx