Seasons Greetings!

Seasons Greetings!

As I write this, it is Thanksgiving, and I spent the morning meditating on everything I am grateful for. I am eternally grateful to all of you — my family, friends and supporters who have been such a blessing to me. You have helped transform this experience from a tragic nightmare into a rough but fruitful journey.

Along the way I have learned to be grateful for difficult people. This was the object of my meditation this morning. I had thought maybe when I moved here I would've left the difficult people behind in Carswell, but, turns out, there are difficult people everywhere (though there may be a somewhat higher concentration in prison). 

It's easy to be kind to those who are kind to us. It's much more of a challenge to keep an open heart to those who seem to mean us harm.

With the guidance of a Buddhist volunteer who comes to teach in the prison, I've been practicing tonglen, a method of generating compassion for others. Having real conflict in my life makes this practice immediate and authentic. It still feels bad at the time, but I'm getting better at handling it. I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have without all those difficult people along the way.

I've found another, unexpected, source for comfort as well. One of the university classes I'm taking is Literature of the Bible. It's an English class, not Theology, but I'm reading the Bible for the first time and learning how to decipher the author's intention. I've been going to church regularly, too, partly to aid in my understanding and partly because I appreciate the fellowship of others whose lives have been touched by spiritual truth. I also just enjoy the services — full of joyous dancing and singing. I know many of you have a poor impression of the Christian church, as did I, and for good reason. But I am beginning to understand that, though some Christians may say otherwise, the message of Jesus is love.

So this Christmas, I invite you to celebrate the birth of Christ, a teacher of compassion. May we all be blessed with guidance, in whatever form it takes. May we all become more humble, more caring, more kind.

Chelsea