Dear Friends,

This past Sunday several local meditation communities came together for a silent sign-free meditative Peace Walk. The temperature here in DC was near 100 degrees as we walked along the National Mall to the U.S. Capitol grounds. Several medics were with us and helped to keep us all safe and well.

We manifested this walk to express our desire for peace throughout the world and to call on world leaders to step up to peacemaking for the benefit of all. Our intention was to show that we can act with peace, for peace. To show ourselves and whoever else showed up that there are small acts that can be done with great love.

Did we realize our dream of reaching world leaders? I think that’s unlikely. But, I found that the simple act of coming together to express our feelings about the world’s suffering was itself very healing.

Whether or not it makes any direct impact on the world, I (and I think others) felt connected and supported by coming together in a group where we could see other people, share our hearts, hug old and new friends, commiserate about the existence of so much killing, and walk silently side by side, breathing the sticky DC heat together. These actions already provided us a lot of healing.

A favorite author of mine, adrienne maree brown, write a lot about the healing that happens in community. In a 2009 post, she wrote:

in community, our potential is truly realized. what we have to offer to each other is not merely critique, anger, commentary, ownership and false power. we have the capacity to hold each other, serve each other, heal each other, create for and with each other, forgive each other, and liberate ourselves and each other.

Sometimes we may feel like we are all alone in dealing with difficult situations we face in society and also in our individual lives. But we don’t need to be alone. We are an integral part of the cosmos, we belong here, and we can find and create sangha (communities of practice) wherever we are.

Thich Nhat Hanh describes the ways community can help us:

People in the sangha standing near us, practicing with us, support us so that we are not pulled away from the present moment. Whenever we find ourselves in a difficult situation, two or three friends in the sangha who are there for us, understanding and helping us, will get us through it. Even in our silent practice we help each other.

Where do you find your community? And do you find support there for the challenges facing you and our world?

Please reply and let me know how you are supported and affected by community.

with love,
annie.

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