Dear Friends,

I recently transcribed a talk by Brother Phap Linh, a Plum Village monastic in which he spoke about scientific materialism, faith, and determining our appropriate action/zone of action. Zones of action are the places we are most suited to where we can have the greatest impact and offer the most benefit. His talk inspired me to consider what my own appropriate zone of action might be for 2025.

Dear Friends,

The day before Halloween, while at Plum Village, we listened to a talk in which Thay shared that when we come into the present moment, we have the capacity to become someone who can perform miracles. It’s like we get a magic wand which can magically bring happiness to ourselves and others. Once we see the roots of suffering, ours and others’, we will know how to help and we will be motivated to help.

There are days I feel like I have easy access to the present moment (and hence my magic wand) and other days when I feel powerless and discouraged about the state of the world and whether I can do anything to help. 

When our minds are full of discouraging thoughts like,  “I’m just one person, the world is a mess. What can I do?” we get caught in feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and comparing ourselves to others. That kind of thinking usually deposits me in front of the TV or scrolling on my phone to avoid feelings of shame and despair. 

Reigniting our magic wand can start with noticing our next in-breath. 

In early October, I was in planning mode for a one-month retreat at Plum Village to soak up the teachings and energies of the annual Rains Retreat (see last years post on this here), when I started feeling discouraged about the divisiveness in the U.S. and fearful about the upcoming presidential election between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Over the weeks leading up to my departure, my heart let me know that I needed to get involved in the election in a more serious way before I left. 

I had not gone door to door since working on my Dad’s county commissioner campaign in 1981. My parents were both political activists and their care for the community and belief in the democratic process gave me the courage to get involved. I knew that my home state of Michigan and in fact my home county, Macomb, was what they call a “battleground” area because it was a county that could decide the election for Michigan and Michigan was one of the states that could decide the election for the whole country.