The first time I ever meditated was a guided meditation at the Catholic high school I attended with a teacher I really trusted. It took about 20 minutes and my mind was rapidly racing for the first 15 of them, but the last 5 I noticed that my mind was noticeably more calm. It took longer in between for thoughts to arise and disappear, allowing for me to see things somewhat clearer. I believe different traditions have various names for the racing mind, calling it the “Monkey Mind” or the “Lizard Brain”. After all, our minds are meant to think, so they are just performing their natural function. The problem with this is that a mind that races is not able to think clearly. There are just too many thoughts, desires, fears, and anxieties, which prevent us from seeing things as they really are. Instead, we see them for how we think them to be. We jump from memories in the past, to worries about the future, and create a story that tries to make sense of it all. The reality that is all we have and all there really is is the present. The past only exists in our minds and the future hasn’t or may never happen. This doesn’t mean that it is not useful to reflect, learn lessons, and plan. But rather, that doing so with a calm mind can lead to more positive outcomes.

In the Search for Trust and Temerity

I say all of this as the 2020 election looms over the U.S., with the consequences higher than ever. No matter which side you plan to vote for, there is no denying that this election feels a lot heavier than some others in the past. As a country, we have gone through so much in so little time this year. What started off as a promising new decade has turned into an ominous sign of what could be to come. We have a raging climate crisis that is displacing and destroying both people and natural resources from Coast to Coast. We face a racial reckoning in which brown and black people are still exploited and brutalized by a justice system that seems almost completely broken. We see both peaceful and violent expressions of frustration with the way things are in the U.S. from both sides, demonstrating that the American public just doesn’t trust our government anymore. And we have to find solutions to these issues all the while dealing with the worst pandemic in a century. 

Anxious Times

There is no sugar coating it, 2020 plain sucks. Many people are feeling more anxious and depressed than ever before. Just look at Dak Prescott, the star Quarterback of America’s Team the Dallas Cowboys. He boldly and gracefully said what a lot of people are thinking right now. The current state of the country and world, as well a losing his brother to suicide, have had him feeling so down that he didn’t even want to think about football for some time. Even Captain America, Chris Evans, almost couldn’t do the movie due to crippling anxiety. As someone who works in healthcare, I can feel and hear the stress of many of my coworkers. As a musician, I feel horrible for all of those in the business who no longer have an income from their livelihood. Not to mention the joy that live music brings to people’s lives.

Premeditated Meditation

That is why I think that there is no more important time in our history than now for us to really start making time for meditation. To be clear, I am not talking about prayer, which is very different (I can say that after 16 years of Catholic School education). And I am not talking about anything religious either. I am speaking of just sitting, or lying down, with only your mind and maybe some background music, paying attention to your breath. It seems like the easiest thing in the world to do, but in fact may be one of the most challenging. Just ask anyone who is beginning meditation. Like learning the violin, I have never heard anyone say, “It was really easy, I picked it up the first time.” I believe that we need to meditate now more than ever because it allows us to slow down and see with more clarity. When you really see into humanity, we are all suffering. We are suffering from loss, death, illness, tragedy, or financial insecurity. We are suffering from fear, uncertainty, hopelessness, and anxieties. This suffering may be the one thing that binds us universally as a human race. You just really can’t avoid it, whether you are Black or White, Democrat or Republican, Protestor or Police. At some point we will all suffer. 

Peace in a Place of Turmoil

I guess my inspiration to take meditation more seriously now came after I read the book that came out earlier this year titled The Buddhist on Death Row. It captures the true story of a black man, Jarvis Jay Master, who has been wrongly accused of a crime, and has been sitting on death row for decades. Many of those years he spent in the hole in complete isolation. Yet, rather than turn angry and vindictive, he slowly turned to meditation. With the help of mentors, he learned to slow his thoughts, generate compassion, and see more clearly. For decades now, Jarvis had dedicated his life to helping other young inmates develop the technique, turning to peace rather than violence. He even developed close relationships with the guards who he once looked at as an evil representation of the system, simply by having compassion and seeing that just like him, all they wanted to do was be happy with their families. 

Products of Concrete Slabs

I am not saying that evil does not exist or that there is no right or wrong, and I am definitely no master of meditation. I do know, however, that it has helped me and countless humans over centuries to achieve a more peaceful mindset. To see the neighbor with the MAGA or Biden sign not as someone who is evil, but simply a product of their environment. If we can develop more compassion for one another, and slow down the narrative in our heads about our constructed identities, we can see that most of us are just humans who want to be happy with our friends and family. And most of us, even the NFL’s elite players, experience some sort of suffering. The only way out of these times, for better or worse, is to work together. The sooner we can learn the notion that each of us is connected and when I hurt you I hurt myself, the quicker we will be able to have a dialogue and move towards a better present. We are going to need to in order to solve these challenges currently presented to us. I firmly believe that the best thing each of us and our families can do is to start with 10 minutes a day of being with your own mind. There has never been a better time and there is definitely no excuse. If Jarvis Jay Master can find peace, compassion, and joy from a concrete slab on Death Row, we can do the same. 

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