Mindfulness: Seeing Reality As It Is

Sometimes an insult becomes so ingrained that we forget what it means. A favorite epithet used by opponents of liberal values is the simple past tense of the verb "to wake", i.e., "woke." It is often used incorrectly as an adjective or adverb and has become trivialized. Here is the verb used correctly: "I woke and it was raining."

The opposite of "woke" in the simple past tense is "asleep" or "unaware." Used in a sentence, it sounds like this: "I was asleep when it was raining." Or: "I was unaware that it was raining." Is being asleep or unaware, the opposite of woke, a state we want to praise? Evidently, it is. Some people would clearly rather not see reality as it is, especially about problems we are facing in this country as we sleepwalk into autocracy. The practice of mindfulness requires us to stay awake and see reality as it is, even when we'd much prefer to go to sleep or remain unaware.

Since the inauguration, Trump and his followers have tried to "flood the zone" with activities to outrage his opponents and delight his base. Ending foreign aid, firing federal workers, opening the floodgates of corruption, attacking states and cities that elect Democrats, extorting law firms, the press, and universities, eliminating due process for immigrants, discriminating against women and LGBTQ Americans, and attempting to rewrite history--these actions reveal a vision that will take us backward. The administration and the billionaires want us to stay asleep and unaware. And many are happy to oblige, at least until Trump's unsound economic policies lead to inflationary increases or a stock market crash, causing chaos to ensue.

This regime seeks to reestablish a culture of inequality, discrimination, and cruelty that was standard in the Gilded Age, when America was "great", according to their revisionist history. We are being assaulted by images reminiscent of the authoritarian regimes of the 1930s, showing masked, plain-clothes supposed ICE agents attacking, handcuffing, arresting, and sometimes disappearing immigrants and citizens, and no one can stop them, even though they have no warrants, employ no due process, and routinely violate habeas corpus. ICE thugs are terrorizing the neighborhoods where hardworking people who harvest our food, take care of our elders, and build our houses are forced to hide in their homes in fear. And now, Trump prepares to enter Israel's war against Iran, a war that will no doubt kill hundreds of thousands more innocents and wreak environmental destruction, even as the survivors of the most recent wars huddle in their miserable camps, starving and desperate. Nothing to see here? Disasters break ceaselessly on our awareness. We must awaken.

Many of us feel overwhelmed and unable to focus on one travesty before the next wave of ugly injustice hits. We want to fall back asleep, be unaware. We don't want to wake up because it's too painful. It might make us unpopular at parties or even a target. We'd rather have another glass of wine, find a better show to watch on TV, or have a conversation with someone who will engage in "positive" small talk and avoid "politics" at all costs. We've gone far beyond politics.

If you're someone who is unable to be blasé about this, I empathize with you. That's me, too. I can't help but see the suffering of my fellow human beings and wonder what I can do for my immigrant friends and neighbors, for people trying to obtain food in Gaza or Sudan, and for citizens of Ukraine, Iran, and even Israel and Russia, though their governments are the aggressors. I hunger and thirst after justice, but rarely feel satisfied. The people in power in this world today are a ruthless bunch. It is hard to see the humanity in them, though I know it's there. I will continue to struggle to find it while also trying my best to keep my despair at arm's length.

I lead a quiet and peaceful life. No one is coming for me or my family members, at least not yet. I have enough to eat. No bombs are falling on my home. But every day I am awake to the sufferings inflicted needlessly on the innocent, here in America and around the world, intentionally and at the hands of the rich and powerful. I see and hear the arrogance, cruelty, and callousness in how they speak about and treat people they consider less than themselves, including me and my family.

I rue the steady march toward a climate disaster that was once considered avoidable. The rich and powerful dismantle any safeguards for our planet that could limit their amassing of yet more wealth. They plan to leave Earth and those left upon it to die. They say so openly! It is breathtaking, and that is precisely what is happening to me. As a result of bearing witness, I am more mindful of my breath today than perhaps ever before in my life.

As a result, I feel stronger and more purposeful than I have in a long time, since I had newborn babies who required my constant attention just to live. It is hard work paying attention. But for me, the work is worth it if it contributes even in a small way to relieving some of this monstrous, avoidable suffering and injustice. And it beats hell out of trying to sleep through this time of crisis because I don't want to face the reality of what is happening to us. That is why I am writing this--in hopes of stirring others to protest. That is all we have as citizens: the right to vote and the right to assemble and express our grievances to our elected government to seek redress. We did it on No Kings Day, just last Saturday. We must prepare to do it every day until this regime is changed.