Intentions for the New Era
Issue #4.1 ~ January 19th, 2025
As TLBR embarks upon its fourth year here on Substack, I want to begin by thanking all my subscribers for reading the newsletter throughout the challenging three years that have just passed, and by wishing each of you the best in the far more challenging new year that looms ahead.
I also want to urge everyone to take special note of the lead item in this issue’s “AfterWords” section, where I recommend an important new book by Mike Slott, “Mindful Solidarity”, and explain how you can apply for a free copy of Mike’s book.
Three Intentions
As we’ve been collectively bracing ourselves over the past few weeks for the expected storms of domestic chaos and global upheaval that will inevitably follow in the wake of Donald Trump’s return to the presidency tomorrow, I’ve been encountering some unexpected personal bits of chaos and upheaval in the course of my normal daily routine.
Specifically, two rather unwelcome behaviors have been manifesting with some persistence: (1) I’m frequently catching myself in the unconscious act of mindlessly pulling at the skin around my fingernails and cuticles - while reading, streaming, during conversations, when I’m meditating, and (sorry to say) even now as I’m writing this paragraph; and (2) lately I’m being subject to significantly more mental lapses (way many more than I’m willing to blame on the senior moments that normally afflict my 75-year-old self), examples of which include opening the wrong kitchen cabinet door for an object I know perfectly well is sitting behind some other door, roaming into the den for a pen or a paper clip and then retreating back to my living room chair empty-handed, or going to the printer to pick up a document only to find the print tray empty because I forgot to hit the “print” tab before getting up to retrieve it.
For now, I’m attributing both the finger-picking and the forgetting to my stressful preoccupation with what I fear is ahead for our country and the world at large.
The operative word in that last sentence is, of course, “fear”. As I wrote in the last issue, there are any number of possible kinds of reactivity we might experience in contemplating the future under Trump 2.0 - depression, despair, anxiety, fear, anger, or some combination of them.
It would appear that “fear” has been my preferred choice of reactivity in the run-up to Inauguration Day.
I also wrote in that post …
We need to recognize and let go (as much as possible) of our reactive responses, [whatever] they be. Then, and only then, will we be ready to enter upon some kind of wise action in response to the coming storms.
So, recognizing the fear underlying my recent unskillful behavior patterns, and realizing the critical necessity of responding as skillfully as possible to the events likely to unfold in the months and years ahead, I‘ve formulated these three personal intentions to guide my actions during what I see as “the new era of autocracy” descending upon so much of the world:
Monitor my own reactivity to events on a constant basis, and let go of it as much as I possibly can as quickly as I possibly can.
Commit to supporting, and when possible participating in, thoughtful and peaceful acts of protest and/or resistance, in community with other like-minded individuals and groups.
Build up and maintain an ongoing sense of physical, mental, and emotional resilience for the long-term effort that will be required.
In contrast to “new year’s resolutions”, which are usually based upon wishful thinking and almost always collapse within a few weeks under the weight of their predictable lack of success, these intentions of mine are meant to persist not just for a year, but for as long as it takes for this new era to come to its conclusion; and they are meant to be renewed over and over again, no matter how many times I fail to succeed at them (and fail at them I surely will).
In the next few issues, I’ll report on how I’m doing with these three intentions, and how I might be needing to tweak them as events unfold. I’ll also revisit the “two tasks” I’ve been writing about for the past year and a half, and explore how we might stir the ashes of their demise into a vision of some more viable set of tasks for this new era.
In the meantime, please feel welcome to comment below on your own recent experiences of reactivity, as well as on any personal intentions you’re formulating for how you hope to navigate through the trying times to come.
“AfterWords”
My friend and colleague Mike Slott, co-founder of the Secular Buddhist Network, has written an important new book, “Mindful Solidarity”, in which he explores the many ways in which personal meditation can inform one’s political activism, and conversely, the many ways in which political activism can inform one’s personal meditation practice. For those of you who consider yourselves to be “engaged Buddhists”, this book will offer you some welcome insights into how you might more skillfully align your activism with your practice; and for those of you who prefer keeping your practice separate and distinct from your political engagement, Mindful Solidarity will inspire you to consider the potential benefits of bringing the two together.
For a deeper dive into what Mike’s book is all about, please read my Goodreads review here.
And finally, if you’d like to obtain a free copy of Mindful Solidarity, you can request one by entering your name and your shipping address in the comments area for this post. I’ll mail a copy of the book to the first four readers who post their request. I only have four copies available, so if you’re interested, don’t hesitate!
Looking in on what's happening in the USA from Aotearoa New Zealand, my suggestion to those of you share Tom's concerns would be to also consider what is happening elsewhere on the planet. Get a sense of the bigger picture. At the same time, if you don't have a regular meditation practice, then start one; I consider mine to be the best gift I ever gave myself.