What’s Possible? What’s So.

Rumi (13th-century Persian poet and mystic)
* Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and right-doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.

Pema Chodron (1936–living), American-born Tibetan Buddhist teacher)
* Nothing ever goes away until it has taught us what we need to know.
* If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, even those who drive us crazy, can be our teacher
* You are the sky. Everything else—it’s just the weather.

Ram Das (1931–2019) (Spiritual teacher, psychologist, writer)
* Suffering is part of our training program for becoming wise.
* Let’s lay down our righteousness and just be together.
* We’re all just walking each other home.

Michael Naumer (1942–2001) (Relationships and consciousness teacher)
* Do you want to be right or do you want to be effective?
* When you diminish another person, you lose their ability to contribute to you.
* The universe is not oppositional; only our minds are.
* As consciousness rises, significance drops away.
* Gathering evidence is how we organize our resistance.
* There’s a difference between taking a stand and being a stand.
* Position creates opposition; when I take a position, I have to defend it.
* Everything changes. Everything happens in cycles. Everything contributes.
* Complaint is an abdication of responsibility.
* The mind is a dangerous neighborhood; don’t go in there alone.
* People are miraculous surprises.

Being Wrong, by Kathryn Schulz (Journalist and author)
* We look into our hearts and see objectivity. We look into our minds and see rationality. We look into our beliefs and see reality.

My Better Angels, by Catherine Sevenau (a student and reader of the above)
* I shall honor my word and take responsibility for what I speak.
* I shall honor my family, community, and beloved biosphere.
* I shall tell the truth—and endeavor not to add to chaos, war, or misery.
* I am grateful and humbly bow to the beauty and mystery of it all.
* Be of service to others, to something greater than myself.
* Clean up my inner litter; this includes not dumping it in my neighbor’s yard.
* Quit carping and complaining, raining my misery on others.
* I am not the center of the universe; life is not all about me and what I want.
* I am connected and interconnected with everything. What I do matters.
* Accept all of myself, and all of you, our greatness and pettiness.
* What I believe is true for me, so I’m careful what I believe.

What’s So: Our country is in trouble, and it’s getting worse every day. For many, it’s become dangerous. Enough is enough. How do we get back on course? Boots on the ground and speaking up help. Causing good trouble makes a difference. There are more of us who want our democracy to hold than those who don’t.

What can I do to counteract the current outrage in this country? I can keep my sense of humor, breathe, and stay in my lane. I can gracefully agree to disagree. I can have empathy for those who exist inside pain-bodies, who were hurt as young children and haven’t come to terms with it, who’ve never gotten counseling or therapy, who have no introspection, and rather than healing that pain, are paying it forward and splashing it on whoever and wherever they can. From what I can tell, those are the ones currently running the show, gleefully swinging the wrecking balls, and why we’re in such a mess. Power, money, and greed are in there, too, but that’s obvious.

I can do my part not to perpetuate conflict with the supporters on that side of the fence. The news and the internet are a problem; both camps slant the news, rile the public, and give little voice to the middle. We want to be mad. We want to be right. We don’t want to give ground. It’s exhausting. Nothing will change until we shift some of our beliefs and positions. Give it a rest. Talk to each other. Cut down on the caffeine. Take a nap. Reach out. Be kind. Make soup. Plant sunflowers. It’s a start.

And if we meet in the field and you find no middle ground or nothing useful here, just walk on by. I’ll find the others who want to plant sunflowers.

April 2025, Catherine Sevenau