FTWMI: It’s Not About What We’re Saying… (an updated short post with links & 2 excerpts) [the post-practice Monday post] May 25, 2026

Many, many blessings to everyone and especially to anyone observing the Afterfeast of the Ascension and/or Memorial Day.

For Those Who Missed It: The following post-practice for Monday, May 25^th was originally posted in 2024 (and revised in 2025). In addition to adding the Memorial Day note and excerpt, I have updated some details and links. The 2026 prompt question was, “Who are you remembering?”

You can request an audio recording of this practice or a previous practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra           (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.

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“Don’t say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so that I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. A lady of my acquaintance said, ‘I don’t care so much for what they say as I do for what makes them say it.’”

— quoted from the essay “Social Aims” in Letters and Social Aims by Ralph Waldo Emerson (b. 1803)

[On Friday, May 24, 2024], a group of United States veterans reportedly spent part of their Memorial Day weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina with the intention of asking people at the Republican National Convention to honor the basic principles of the “republic, for which it stands” and they were (reportedly) escorted out of the area. Even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that and about the idea of still serving even after one’s official service is over — and about how people react to that.

Four Six years ago today, George Floyd was murdered in Minneapolis. Even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that and about the importance of treating someone you perceive as being different from you with respect — and about how we seem to keep forgetting that.

Almost exactly one hundred, five days — in a year when Memorial Day fell on May 30^th — the Greenwood District, also known as Black Wall Street, was destroyed in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Even if I don’t talk about it (until this weekend), this practice is about that and about the importance of respecting what others build and acknowledging the loss when it is destroyed — and about how hard that seems to be for some people.

Click on the excerpt title below for the 2020 Memorial Day post.

We Will Remember Them

“There is some awe mixed with the joy of our surprise, when this poet, who lived in some past world, two or three hundred years ago, says that which lies close to my own soul, that which I also had wellnigh thought and said.”

— quoted from the 1837 “The American Scholar” speech by Ralph Waldo Emerson

Two hundred, twenty-three twenty-one years ago today, Ralph Waldo Emerson was born in Boston, Massachusetts. I often say that I am blown away by the fact that his words are still relevant to our present circumstances. Even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is about that.

And, even if I don’t talk about it, this practice is also about what you are feeling in this present moment.

Click on the excerpt title below for the 2021 post about Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Let’s Breathe (a 2-for-1 “missing” post)

“The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson (b. 05/25/1803)

There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices. 

“…in our effort to accommodate many Americans by making the last Monday in May, Memorial Day, we have lost sight of the significance of this day to our nation. Instead of using Memorial Day as a time to honor and reflect on the sacrifices made by Americans in combat, many Americans use the day as a celebration of the beginning of summer.”

— Veteran and Hawaii Congressman Daniel Inouye, quoted from the “Senate” portion of the Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 106^th Congress, First Session (Vol. 145, Washington, Tuesday, January 19, 1999, No. 8)

If you are thinking about suicide, worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, you can dial 988 (in the US) or call 1-800-273-TALK (8255) for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. You can also call this TALK line if you are struggling with addiction or involved in an abusive relationship. The Lifeline network is free, confidential, and available to all 24/7. YOU CAN TALK ABOUT ANYTHING.

White Flag is an app, which I have not yet researched, but which may be helpful if you need peer-to-peer (non-professional) support.

If you are a young person in crisis, feeling suicidal, or in need of a safe and judgement-free place to talk, you can also click here to contact the TrevorLifeline (which is staffed 24/7 with trained counselors).

You’re Invited to Bend… & To Take The Deepest Breath You’ve Taken — On Retreat!

September 25 — 27, 2026

“Compassion. Respect. Common Sense.”

— Retired Marine Staff Sergeant Tim Chambers (a.k.a The Saluting Marine) when asked what he wanted to inspire in people who see him standing/saluting

### “Continue to breathe / In honor of your brother / That’s what your heart is for” ~ India.Arie (Aaron Lindsey / India.arie Simpson) ###