Meditating Through Seasonal Transitions:

The Byrds sang, “To everything, turn, turn, turn, there is a season.” This popular 1960s song interprets a scripture passage about life transitions. As difficult as transitions may be, we can try to understand that the only constant in life is change. 

The Five Buddhist Remembrances mirrors the understanding of the inevitability of transitions. All beings are of the nature to grow old, to have ill health, to grieve loss, and to die. Everything changes, from our health to our thoughts and bodies. We grow in many ways as we experience life transitions, and meditation is a way to understand how equanimity helps us navigate change.

Equanimity is defined as “mental calmness, composure, … especially in a difficult situation” and is a way to navigate change that helps us accept transitions with grace and patience. How do we bring mental calmness and composure to difficult situations when the nature of life is to change? 

In an article in Lion’s Roar entitled Finding a Better Balance, author Christiane Wolf points out ways Equanimity helps us welcome a more balanced perspective through meditation. 

• Mindfulness helps us accept change as we observe the flow of thoughts, feelings, and sensations in the body without rushing to fix them. 
• Be open and willing to accept things as they are in each moment.
• Practice caring deeply with acceptance and nonreactivity.
• Consciously living life will help us be equanimous over time. 

Meditation is called a “practice” because it takes consistent repetition to reap its benefits. By practicing with Equanimity, we learn to accept each moment as it is. We also express kindness and compassion to ourselves and others when life’s changes are challenging.