Pam Hausner

I was born into what historians have called one of the most tumultuous and divisive decades in world history, marked by the civil rights movement, the Vietnam War and antiwar protests, political assassinations and the emerging “generation gap.” My deeply conservative religious upbringing tried desperately to frame the social, political, and economic upheavals in a way that would keep me in line, suppress my questions, and ensure my ultimate salvation regardless of the suffering around me. And it worked…until it didn’t.

Despite the years of being told what to think and how to behave, my compassion for others and willingness to deeply listen to life experiences outside my bubble began to open new ways of seeing and understanding the world. Gradually, the carefully constructed scaffolding of pre-approved, required beliefs began to shake until it all fell into a heap. This may sound liberating or horrifying, depending on your worldview, and I can assure you it was both. 

This is when I discovered mindfulness meditation. Mindfulness simply asks that you bring your full awareness to what is happening in the present moment, held in openness and compassion. Approaching life using these innate values helped me to reframe the suffering I was seeing in the world. From a foundation of integrity, I could honor the interconnection and messiness of life with its 10,000 joys and 10,000 sorrows. I could also embrace the mystery of the sacred without needing to define it (which of course, no one really can).

As the world enters a new era of war and gun violence, civil rights erosion, social, political, and economic polarization, and apocalyptic climate issues, the regular practice of mindfulness meditation can help us find community while we build resilience and creativity to face these challenges. There is much work to be done! Will you join me?