Last night I watched the US Democratic Party convention for their presidential nominee on TV. I saw people deeply moved by some of the speeches that were made. The theme was “change.” I felt that people were relating to the need for change on a level that they were not even conscious of, that led them to tears. Hilary Clinton appealed to her supporters to go deeper into themselves to look at what they want when she said, “Were you voting for me or for the mother with cancer and two autistic children who have no medical insurance? She echoed presidential nominee, Barack Obama’s stand when she said, “Change must come from the ground up, not from top down.” This is a call for deep-rooted change that builds the foundation for a strong society that is based on a fundamental need for security, dignity and trust. The keynote speaker, Mark Warner, ex-governor of Virginia spoke of building a strong future based on hope not on fear. He rallied his audience to draw upon the American spirit to work together to reclaim the basic standard of living lost to many families, to create a new economy that will come from new technology for sustainable energy, and investment in education to bring out-sourced jobs back home from overseas.
photo credit: alicepopkorn
As I listened to these speakers, I was reminded of the phrase “take the one seat” from Jack Kornfield’s book, A Path With Heart. Mr. Kornfield says we need to find a spiritual practice and stay with it to yield the fruit of that practice. For many of us, no matter what spiritual path we choose, meditation is the foundation of our spiritual practice. Through meditation, we look at our struggle, our sorrow and awaken the force of life that is unstoppable. It is in awakening this force that we are able to create real change in our lives. In his book Mr. Kornfield says, “In taking the one seat, each of us awakens this force. It is through our strength of being, our integrity, the discovery of our own greatness of heart that we bring freedom to our lives and bring it to those around us as well.”
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Thank you for making the connection with the Democratic Party convention and what is going on at this moment in American national politics and what each of us can do with our spiritual practice to further change. It’s been a long time since I read Kornfield’s inspirational book. I found myself uplifted by the speeches at the convention this week, but the connection to who I am right now and what I am doing to make change makes the speeches so much more meaningful. Instead of feeling cynical about “hot air” and “political showmanship”, thanks to Miruh’s blog observation, my energy is now more focused on my follow through and deepening my commitment to change and spiritual awakening.
Thank you for your comment Jude. I agree, these times call for us to act as Ghandi says, “We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”
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