Blog Category: Equanimity
The Suffering of Others and Equanimity
Witnessing bad things happen to people has been very hard to bear. People experience health issues, financial distress, emotional pain, relationship problems and a myriad of events ranging from merely bad to downright tragic. How do we deal with seeing that?
It has felt easier for me to live in equanimity about my own life difficulties than to have equanimity about others’ sorrows. Why? Because I want to help; I want to do something with and for them to change things and make it better.
Life recently presented me with a situation where I witnessed someone else experiencing great loss . . . and, try as I might, there is nothing that I can do about it, and I was unable to simply let it be.
Have you ever had the experience of being present to the pain and suffering of another . . . and be unable to help? How well have you been able to live in equanimity? Is it easier for you to have equanimity about your own situations or those of others?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
Upset, Anger and Staying In Equanimity
The opportunity for upset has presented itself more than normal, it seems, since we’ve been discussing equanimity this week.
Last evening, a friend and I dined at a local restaurant on the ground floor of an office building in Brentwood. After dinner, we lingered to work on a project together. In the parking garage, we were told we owed the maximum day parking charge even though we had been validated for two hours. All this while other customers were leaving the parking lot and not being asked for their tickets at all.
Interesting, huh, to want to stay calm and not be triggered by feelings of being treated badly as the parking attendant wouldn’t say his name, was taking down our license plate numbers, basically threatening us? What?
We made a choice of equanimity: remaining centered, calling the manager and staying an extra 20 minutes until the situation was resolved.
There were other choices: get really angry and leave without paying, pay and leave really angry, or pay and feel victimized. Upset was very tempting, but ultimately it would have been counterproductive.
How do you handle upset at restaurants, banks, stores and the like? Are you able to hold on to equanimity? What kinds of experiences have you had where either the presence or the lack of equanimity had a significant impact on the outcome?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
Equanimity: One of the Seven Factors of Enlightenment
Author Thich Nhat Hanh wrote: “The seven factors of enlightenment: mindfulness, investigation of mental objects, energy, joy, tranquility, concentration and equanimity.”
Our culture has supported anything but equanimity with relentless commercials and pundits who label – often with polar opposites – everything and everyone. It has been difficult to simply maintain a relationship of peace to whatever occurs.
We strive to be practical in our intention to support optimal results. Is equanimity practical? If so, how can it be maintained? If not, why not – and what is the next best choice after equanimity? What historical figure best embodies equanimity in your perception?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
Equanimity is the Ultimate Objectivity
Practicing an attitude of equanimity is a huge strategic advantage in expanding the results you seek in life. Equanimity is a significant business and professional advantage because it has us make far better decisions than without it.
Think of equanimity as the ultimate objectivity – a state of mind where you can simply ALLOW ANY situation that presents itself – without judging it as good or bad.
Try it on. Think of a situation that *feels* good. Now, see if you can simply move to a place in your mind where the situation feels neither good nor bad.
Now think of a situation that *feels* bad. Have the feeling, but allow yourself to view the situation with no emotion if you can. It just is. From that place, all actions are available.
Equanimity promotes balanced thinking and supports wiser, better well-considered choices. How does observing the world with more equanimity appeal to you? How possible is it for you?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.
Equanimity Is Avoiding the Roller Coaster
Equanimity is one of the most important areas of study for understanding results. Generally, it means a state of calm and tranquility. I think about it as “not riding the roller coaster” of up and down feelings.
How capable are you of living in a centered state of equanimity where you are able to observe “good” and “bad” things from a perspective of curious observer – rather than from being a victor or a victim of someone else or of outside circumstances?
Who do you know who models a high degree of equanimity? What can you learn from that person? In what areas of your life would equanimity be most useful and welcome?
Copyright 2009. E. B. Hutt Bush and Coaching for Results, Inc.