Note: Due to the writer of "Lotus" beginning a period of Silence, Lotus of the Heart will return 11.18. Peace to All!
Equanimity, from Latin aequus "even, level" + animus "mind, spirit"; ca. 1610 English "evenness of temper."
The following story is adapted from Anthony DeMello's The Song of the Bird -
Jesus attends a football game. He is sitting side-by-side with a fellow. When one team plays well, the fellow jumps up and cheers wildly. He despondently sits when that team makes a bad play, and the other team makes a good one.
The guy observes Jesus sitting quietly, seeming to enjoy the game. To him, Jesus appears not to express any excitement and never appears agitated by anything happening on the field. He is perplexed by this calm and equanimity.
The fellow asks, "Which is your team, sir?" Jesus responds, "Oh! Neither one, I'm just enjoying the game."
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Positive and negative feelings come and go. We want all feelings to pass through, each an expression of life. The spirit, however, is a higher-order realm of consciousness than emotion.
As we grow in spiritual wellness, emotions flow through more quickly, not as easily getting damned up. Not overly attached to outcomes is part of this change relating to outside persons and events.
The flowing through is not a stoic attitude. Jesus is enjoying the game. His experience of the game is simply different from the fellow's. Jesus consistently enjoys the game, for the ups and downs of the team are not controlling him. He is calm, not reactive. The guy beside him enjoys the game sometimes, sometimes not, based on the game. The game on the field is in charge of him. He is into happiness and pleasure; Jesus is into joy and presence. Jesus is seeing from a different space: we see, so experience, as our consciousness is.
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What happens when we get reactive to situations? We are often reactive to being reactive. This reactivity-on-reactivity is often seen in guilt feelings and negative self-talk, for we think we should not, for example, have gotten angry. Like all emotions, anger becomes something that passes through more quickly. Impatience passes through quickly. Judgmentalness does, likewise. ... Likewise, favorable feelings flow through more quickly.
We observe what is passing through and are okay with not being beyond experiencing the opposites of life in the feeling sphere - all feelings have an opposite. When an emotion moves through, we can learn from it. Okay, there it is again. We use this as a sign of healing yet to occur, an opportunity for self-compassion. We grow through kind, gentle observation.
We become increasingly content with being fully, fallibly a creature among creatures. We accept we have wounds from being part of this human family and are kind toward our unhealed places.
Living this equanimity toward self makes us more responsive, less reactive, to others. Our sense of kind quietness permeates the environments we move in and out of, influencing others, emanating gentleness and peacefulness. We live more centered, awake to the whole context, rather than attention captivated by this or that. We are, spiritually speaking, awake.
Another sign of this equanimity is the decline of the need for excitement. One may get excited, but it dissipates shortly. Excitement, like other passing emotions, does not stick, so to speak. Indeed, one may feel a sense of not wanting excitement. With this can come an intolerance for specific environments and entertainment that no longer appeal to or may be over-stimulating.
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The Christian Scripture indicates one way we can cultivate equanimity. We can give thanks in all things (I Thess. 5.18). We may not be able to give thanks for everything, but we can in everything. We will notice that offering gratitude can quickly shift how we feel. Gratitude and complaint cannot coexist. Gratitude nurtures a spirit of equanimity. By being grateful, we grow in equanimity; with equanimity, we become more thankful.
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*(C) Brian K. Wilcox, 2023. Permission given to use photographs and writings with credit given to copyright owner.
*Brian's book is An Ache for Union: Poems on Oneness with God through Love. The book is a collection of poems Brian wrote based on wisdom traditions, predominantly Christian, Buddhist, and Sufi, with extensive notes on the poetry's teachings and imagery.
