FTWMI: So, Yes, It’s Groundhog Day & Also… (an abridged post-practice Monday post w/excerpts) February 2, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Changing Perspectives, Faith, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma, Life, Movies, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Women, Yoga.Tags: 988, Bill Murray, Black History Month, Candelmas, Caring, Carnival, change, Groundhog Day, Harold Ramis, holidays, Margaret Fuhrer, Punxsutawney Phil, Raven Wilkinson, Richard Henzel, Season for Nonviolence, trees, Tu BiShvat
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“Happy Carnival!” and “Happy Birthday to the Trees!” to those who are celebrating! Many blessings to everyone, and especially to anyone celebrating Candlemas.
Peace, ease, contemplation, appreciation, and caring throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!!!
For Those Who Missed It: This short post-practice post for Monday, February 2nd (with excerpts) is the abridged (and slightly revised) version of a 2025 post. It includes an extra excerpt related to the “Season for Nonviolence”. The 2026 prompt question was, “If you only had one day (not your last day, but just one day) what would you do?” 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.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“Well, it’s Groundhog Day… again.”
— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day
February 2nd is always Groundhog Day. For people using the Gregorian Calendar, it is also, always, Candlemas, the second day of Black History Month (for some people in the United States), and part of the “Season for Nonviolence”. However, since people use different calendars for religious and cultural holidays and observations, this day sometimes overlaps a whole lot of other ancient rituals and traditions — and even a couple of modern ones. For instance, in 2026, today is also part of Carnival and Tu BiShvat the New Year for Trees (on the Hebrew calendar).
In 2026, the “Season for Nonviolence” principle for today is “Caring”. While an underlying element of this practice is always about how we take care of ourselves, it is coupled with the understanding that we must take care of ourselves in order to take care of others. Today, there is also an awareness that we must care (about ourselves and others) if we want to make any beneficial changes in the world.
FTWMI: AN INVITATION TO SHINE
“It’s always Feb 2nd — there’s nothing I can do about it.”
— Bill Murray as “Phil Connors” in the movie Groundhog Day
Have you ever had one of those moments, like Phil Connors had in the movie Groundhog Day, where you woke up and every day seemed (or actually was) the same? Or, maybe, like Raven Wilkinson (who was born today in 1935), you see things in the world that you want to be different… even though it seems like those things have been the same for so long that they are unchangeable.
I think it is very easy to look at the world and see things we would like changed. I also think we have all had days where nothing we do seems to make a difference. Yet, the reality is that everything we do changes something.
Being alive is like a dance between our body, our mind, our spirit, and the world. Everything is shifting, changing. Everything is balance and counterbalance, inhale and exhale, enter and leaving, rising and falling. Sometimes we lead. Sometimes we follow. Sometimes we are watching from the side, resting, or waiting for our turn to lead or follow. Start to notice that dance and your start to notice change and how you engage it. You also start to notice when you are stuck… and the choices you make when you are stuck.
Do you get frustrated and stay stuck?
Do you “accept the things [you] cannot change”… and stay stuck?
Or, do you “change the things [you] can”… with appreciation/gratitude?
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE SOME HISTORY ABOUT GROUNDHOG DAY.
FTWMI: “Okay, campers, rise and shine!” (the “missing” post for February 2nd)
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT BELOW FOR A PROFILE ABOUT RAVEN WILKINSON.
Whether we realize it or not, everything we do changes something about us. It changes our perspective. Maybe the change is a reinforcement of what we already believe. Sometimes, however, we see ourselves and the world in a new way, a special way. That new insight can lead us to interact with people in a different way — and that can change their perspectives. The first part happened to Phil Connors in the movie. Both parts happened to Raven Wilkinson and, therefore, to ballet dancers and ballet fans.
That’s the way life goes. We just have to rise and shine.
“Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties cause it’s cooooold out there today.”
— Richard Henzel as “DJ #1” in the movie Groundhog Day
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR ANOTHER POST ON CARING FOR OURSELVES (with a video)!
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
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).
“During that same meeting, I also told Mr. Denham that I didn’t want to put the company in danger, but I also never wanted to deny what I was. If someone questioned me directly, I couldn’t say, ‘No, I’m not black.’ Some of the other dancers suggested that I say I was Spanish. But that’s like telling the world there’s something wrong with what you are.”
— Raven Wilkinson quoted from the Pointe Magazine interview ” Raven Wilkinson’s Extraordinary Life: An Exclusive Interview” by Margaret Fuhrer (dated June 1, 2014)
### I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING CARE OF YOURSELF!! ###
EXCERPTS (& Stories) That I Hope You Appreciate [the “missing” Sunday post] February 1, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Faith, Gandhi, Gratitude, Healing Stories, Hope, Langston Hughes, Life, Meditation, Music, New Year, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Poetry, Religion, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, abolition, Appreciation, Arun Gandhi, Black History Month, Browder v Gayle, Carnival, Charles Lenox Remond, E. Ethelbert Miller, full moon, Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes, Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace, Season for Nonviolence, slavery, smiling, Snow Moon, Suffragists, Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee, trees, Tu BiShvat, Underground Railroad
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“Happy Carnival!” & an early “Happy Birthday to the Trees!” to those who are already celebrating! Many blessings to everyone, everywhere.
Peace, ease, smiling, appreciation, and contemplation throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!!!
This is the “missing” post for Sunday, February 1st. It is a revised and updated version of a 2025 compilation post (with some *new content*, as noted). 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.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“Life is filled with opportunities to express appreciation, yet how many times do we pass up the opportunity thinking ‘oh, I’ll tell them later.’ When we tell someone that we appreciate them, we are promoting nonviolence.”
— quoted from the “Reflection” section of the “Day 3 ~ February 1 ~ Appreciation” 2026 page for the “Season for Non-violence,” provided by the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace
THE SEASON FOR NONVIOLENCE
Arun Gandhi, the grandson of Mohandas Gandhi, established the “Season for Nonviolence” (January 30th through April 4th) in 1998. Throughout the season, the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace offers daily practices based on principles of nonviolence advocated by Mahatma Gandhi (who was assassinated on January 30, 1948) and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (who was assassinated on April 4, 1968). The thing to remember — and one of the things I appreciate — is that these principles are not unique to one culture, one philosophy, or one religion. Courage, smiling, appreciation, caring, believing, simplicity, education — the principles of the first week1 — all predate Gandhi and MLK; they also predate Jesus and the Buddha. One could argue that they are universal.
One could argue that they move through our stories like rivers.
SPEAKING OF RIVERS… (in the new year)
“I’ve known rivers:
I’ve known rivers ancient as the world and older than the flow of human blood in human veins.
My soul has grown deep like the rivers.”
— from the poem “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” by Langston Hughes
Every day, we are simultaneously living (i.e., “writing”) the story of our lives and telling that story, as our stories overlap with the stories around us. This happens, more often than not, without us thinking about how we do it. However, when we intentionally decide to tell our story (and, in doing so, tell part of someone else’s story), we need to decide on a medium — and there are so many ways we can tell a story. We can use prose or poetry, song or movement, a static visual or animation, or some combination of all of the above — and we can share whatever we create live (e.g., on stage, online, or in a pub), in a document, and/or in a recording.
Langston Hughes, who was born today (February 1st) in 19012, wrote a lot of things in a lot of different mediums. Born James Mercer Langston Hughes, the prominent member of the Harlem Renaissance and the first Black American to earn a living solely from writing and public lectures, wrote poetry (including jazz poetry, which he started writing in high school), novels, plays, essays, and letters…so many letters. He wrote so many letters, in fact, that at one point he was writing 30 – 40 letters a day and, by the end of his life, he could have filled 20 volumes of books with his letters. While he wrote in a lot of different mediums and wrote about a lot of different experiences, many people primarily think of him as a poet… a poet who wrote about the Black experience. He also inspired a lot of poets, including the poet, teacher, editor, and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller.3
“There is much for a writer like myself to learn from Langston. His productivity — and the fact that he wrote for a living — is an inspiration. In many photographs, Hughes is laughing or smiling like the Buddha. I have often wondered what he was thinking.”
— quoted from the essay “The Buddha Smile of Langston Hughes” by E. Ethelbert Miller
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE!
“So boy, don’t you turn back.
Don’t you set down on the steps
’Cause you finds it’s kinder hard.
Don’t you fall now—
For I’se still goin’, honey,
I’se still climbin’,
And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.”
— quoted from the poem “Mother to Son” by Langston Hughes
MORE STORIES RELATED TO HUMANS & NATURE (*a new section*)
While I start off Black History Month focusing on the work of Langston Hughes, February 1st is also the anniversary of the birth of Charles Lenox Remond (b. 1810). Like Mr. Hughes, Mr. Remond was known for his ability to tell a story and, like the poet, this great orator was known for telling the story of Black people in America. Of course, at that time, most of the people in question were legally enslaved (in much of the United States).
Born to free entrepreneurs of color in Salem, Massachusetts, Charles Lenox Remond had the benefit of being born and raised in a state that, early on, considered enslaved people both property and “persons before the law”. This dual designation meant people could sue for their freedom — which they did as early as 1752. For ten years (1764—1774), a series of “Freedom suits” resulted in case law that eroded and dissolved slavery in Massachusetts by 1790 (twenty years before Mr. Remond was born). However, free people in Massachusetts still dealt with discrimination and still lived with the ever-present danger of being kidnapped, accused of being runaways, and transported into other states without due process.
Charles Lenox Remond was the eldest son of eight children born to two Underground Railroad conductors: John Remond (a hairdresser from the island of Curaçao) and Nancy Lenox (a hairdresser and caterer who was also the daughter of a prominent Bostonian). He started giving public lectures in his twenties and joined the Massachusetts Anti-Slavery Society. Later, some of siblings would also very publicly join the fight. At 30 years old, Mr. Remond traveled to London, with William Lloyd Garrison, as a delegate representing the American Anti-Slavery Society at the World’s Anti-Slavery Convention. Two years later, on February 10, 1842, he became the first Black person to speak to the Massachusetts Congress. His speech was published in the newspaper on February 25th (which is when I normally talk about him).
“Mr. Chairman, and Gentlemen of the Committee: In rising at this time, and on this occasion, being the first person of color who has ever addressed either of the bodies assembling in this building, I should perhaps, in the first place, observe that, in consequence of the many misconstructions of the principles and measures of which I am the humble advocate, I may in like manner be subject to similar misconceptions from the moment I open my lips in behalf of the prayer of the petitioners for whom I appear, and therefore feel I have the right at least to ask, at the hands of this intelligent Committee, an impartial hearing; and that whatever prejudices they may have imbibed, be eradicated from their minds, if such exist. I have, however, too much confidence in their intelligence, and too much faith in their determination to do their duty as the representatives of this Commonwealth, to presume they can be actuated by partial motives.”
— quoted from his speech “The Rights of Colored Citizens in Traveling”, delivered to the Massachusetts House of Representatives on February 10, 1842, by Charles Lenox Remond
As an abolitionist and a suffragist, Charles Lenox Remond lectured all around the world about the reasons why slavery was immoral and, therefore, should be considered unethical. He also called for a boycott of churches that discriminated against Black parishioner; recruited Black soldiers for the United States Colored Troops, which fought during the Civil War; and joined a walkout when women delegates were denied seats World’s Anti-Slavery Convention in London.
Outside of his public engagements, Charles Lenox Remond probably spent some time working in his family’s hairdressing and catering businesses (including his sisters’ hair salon and wig making factory). He also worked as a clerk in the United States Customs House and as a s a street lamp inspector. Eventually, he also bought a farm.
In 1850, Charles Lenox Remond married Amy Matilda Cassey (née Williams), a fellow abolitionist and one of the co-founders of the Gilbert Lyceum, Philadelphia’s first co-ed literary society. She was also a widower with 8 children. When his first wife passed away, Mr. Remond married Elizabeth Magee, with whom he had four children. In addition to his oldest son being named after him, one of Frederick Douglass’s sons is also named after the man many consider the first Black person to speak publicly about abolition.
“Trusting, as I do, that the day is not distant, when, on all questions touching the rights of the citizens of this State, men shall be considered great only as they are good—and not that it shall be told, and painfully experienced, that, in this country, this State, aye, this city, the Athens of America, the rights, privileges and immunities of its citizens are measured by complexion, or any other physical peculiarity or conformation, especially such as over which no man has any control. Complexion can in no sense be construed into crime, much less be rightfully made the criterion of rights.”
— quoted from his speech “The Rights of Colored Citizens in Traveling”, delivered to the Massachusetts House of Representatives on February 10, 1842, by Charles Lenox Remond
This year, the Snow Moon fell on February 1st, and with it came stories related to other observations and celebrations happening around the world. Some (Western) Christians are in the middle of Carnival (which is the season before Lent), while some (Orthodox) Christians observed the Sunday of the Publican and the Pharisee (which commemorates the parable of the Publican and the Pharisee — and marks the beginning of a three-week pre-Lenten season). Additionally, Sunday at sunset was the beginning of Tu BiShvat, “the New Year for Trees” (or, as I like to call it, “the Birthday of All Trees”).
“How thin and sharp is the moon tonight!
How thin and sharp and ghostly white
Is the slim curved crook of the moon tonight!”
— quoted from the poem “Winter Moon” by Langston Hughes
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “Langston’s Theme for Jimmy 2022”]
“We’ve all heard the expression, ‘You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone.’ Why do we wait? Today, I’ll pause to appreciate, acknowledge, and express gratitude for all that I have…my life, my health, my home, my talents, my relationships, food and water…..”
— quoted from the “Affirmation” section of the “Day 3 ~ February 1 ~ Appreciation” 2026 page for the “Season for Non-violence,” provided by the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace
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).
“Hold fast to dreams
For if dreams die
Life is a broken-winged bird
That cannot fly.”
— quoted from the poem “Dreams” by Langston Hughes
NOTES:
1The Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace adjusts their “Season for Nonviolence” pages/calendar so that there is a principle through the season, even during Leap Year. I apparently checked my notes before I checked the calendar and, therefore, skipped one of my favorite principles: smiling.
2According to most printed biographies (that I checked), Langston Hughes was born in 1902. However, many digital sources indicate that he was born in 1901 — and this earlier date is based on research and fact checking reported for the New York Times by Jennifer Schuessler (in 2018). Curiously, the 1940 census listed his birth as “abt 1905”; however, this information would have been given to a census taker by one of the poet’s roommates. (Additionally, we know from one his poems that Langston Hughes didn’t think very highly of the “census man” and the accuracy of census information.)
3E. Ethelbert Miller’s essay “The Buddha Smile of Langston Hughes” was first published in Black Issues Book Review in 2001 (and is quoted here from On Being).
### WITH MUCH GRATITUDE ###
FTWMI: Another Mystical Introduction (with Excerpt & links) January 31, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dharma, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Faith, Gandhi, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Music, Mysticism, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Religion, Vipassana, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Christianity, Contemplation, courage, Exodus, faith, Fred Bahnson, Jeremy Seifert, Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace, meditation, Season for Nonviolence, Season of Non-violence, Season of Nonviolence, Shabbat Shiirah, Shemot, spirituality, Thomas Merton
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Peace and ease to all during this “Season for Non-violence” and all other seasons! May we all sing in honor of freedom & lovingkindness. May we all have the courage to go a little deeper.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2024. Class details, some formatting, excerpts, and an extra blessing have been updated/added.
“It takes courage to stretch our worldview, to develop and deepen our commitment to peace. Courageous people are those who are empowered with the awareness that what they think, say and do makes a difference. Today start to see yourself as an agent of positive change. Have the courage to be the change you wish to see in the world.”
— quoted from the “Daily Action” section of the “Day 1 ~ January 31 ~ Courage” page for the “Season for Non-violence,” provided by the Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace
As I mentioned yesterday, Arun Gandhi, (Mohandas Gandhi’s grandson) established the “Season for Nonviolence” (January 30th through April 4th) in 1998. The Mahatma Gandhi Canadian Foundation for World Peace offers daily practices based on principles of nonviolence advocated by Mahatma Gandhi (who was assassinated on January 30, 1948) and Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (who was assassinated on April 4, 1968). These two great leaders/teachers did not invent these ideas. These principles are not unique to one culture, one philosophy, or one religion. Ideas like ahiṃsā (non-violence or “non-harming”) — which is the very first yama (external “restraint” or universal commandment) in the Yoga Philosophy; one of the Ten Commandments according the Abrahamic religions; and one of the Buddhist precepts — predate both men and their struggles. They are enduring principles that guided them in their efforts to overcome their struggles.
Today’s word is courage, which came into the English language from Latin, by way of Old French and Middle English, from a word that meant “to live with [your] whole heart.” This is not — or, not only — an anatomical idea. It is a physical-mental, emotional-energetic, psychic-symbolic thing. It can also be a spiritual-religious thing: a mystical thing. Accordingly, Thomas Merton, who was born today in 1915, was not only a deeply religious, spiritual, contemplative, and mystical man; he was a man of courage. He was a man who was willing to push the boundaries of what was known and acceptable, in order to explore the unknown… even when it wasn’t acceptable.
Click the excerpt title below to learn more about the mystical adventures of Thomas Merton.
“Just remaining quietly in the presence of God, listening to Him, being attentive to Him, requires a lot of courage and know-how.”
— Thomas Merton, O. C. S. O.
Please join me today (Saturday, January 31st) at 12:00 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01312021 Merton’s Mystical Day”]
“We’re all on a journey. We’re all going somewhere.”
“Our task now is to learn that if we can voyage to the ends of the earth, and there find ourselves in the stranger who most differs from ourselves, we will have made a fruitful pilgrimage. This is why pilgrimage is necessary, in some shape or other. Mere sitting at home and meditating on the Divine presence is not enough for our time. We have to come to the end of a long journey and see that the stranger we meet there is no other than ourselves.”
— quoted from the Emergence Magazine documentary On The Road With Thomas Merton, by Jeremy Seifert and Fred Bahnson, based on Woods, Shore, Desert: A Notebook, May 1968, by Thomas Merton
This YouTube link will take you to a clip of the short Emergence documentary referenced above. The full documentary is also available on YouTube.
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).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### Sit, Breathe…. ###
Two Quick Notes & EXCERPT: “2024 / ‘For Those Who Missed It (& those who still don’t get it): Divine Remembrance’” January 27, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Loss, One Hoop, Pain, Peace, Religion, Suffering, Tragedy, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, auschwitz, Dante Alighieri, Dr. Viktor Frankl, Exodus, Franz Vesely, history, Holocaust, Indiana University Press, International Holocaust Remembrance Day, poland, Shemot, travel, United Nations General Assembly, United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere. Peace and safe passage to all on International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“…music, in even the most terrible situations, must never offend the ear but always remain a source of pleasure.”
— quoted from a letter (dated September 26, 1781) from Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (b. 1756) to his father, as printed in W. A. Mozart by Hermann Abert (Editor: Professor Cliff Eisen and Translator: Stewart Spencer)
When we are in the midst of terrible situations, it is sometimes easy to forget about the fact that life is still happening… that there is still pleasure. This is one of the things that I mention in today’s practice and in the post and excerpt below.
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2025. The 2025 prompt question was, “What is your hope for the future?” The linked post and practice reference political conflict, war, and genocide.
Same day related references and links have been updated or added.
“What we create, experience, and suffer, in this time, we create, experience, and suffer for all eternity. As far as we bear responsibility for an event, as far as it is ‘history,’ our responsibility, it is incredibly burdened by the fact that something has happened that cannot be ‘taken out of the world.’ However, at the same time an appeal is made to our responsibility—precisely to bring what has not yet happened into the world! And each of us must do this as part of our daily work, as part of our everyday lives. So everyday life becomes the reality per se, and this reality becomes a potential for action. And so, the ‘metaphysics of everyday life’ only at first leads us out of everyday life, but then—consciously and responsibly—leads us back to everyday life.”
— quoted from “Experimentum Crucis” in Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything by Viktor E. Frankl (with an introduction by Daniel Goleman and an afterword by Franz Vesely)
While you probably did not hear anyone else talk about the other events I mention during the practice (and in the post excerpted below), there is a good chance — depending on your bubble — that at some point today you heard someone mention that Auschwitz-Birkenau (the largest Nazi concentration and death camp complex) was liberated today (January 27th) in 1945. Perhaps you also know that, in November 2005, the United Nations General Assembly resolution 60/7 designated January 27th as International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
You might have even heard, as I did, that a large number of adults around the world can not name a single concentration camp. The statistics vary, depending on the country, from over 25% in the United Kingdom, France, and Romania to over 50% in the United States. I was shocked by these statistics and thought, ‘Well, I know 4 or 5, so I can look up the rest and post them on the blog with the excerpt.’
Of course, you will notice that there is no such list here.
There is no list, because Nazi Germany operated over a thousand concentration camps (including subcamps) from 1933 — 1945. The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) and Indiana University Press published a seven-part encyclopedia series, called Encyclopedia of Camps and Ghettos, 1933–1945, which covered over 42,500 sites in Europe and Africa (controlled by the Nazis and the other Axis powers during that time period). According to the encyclopedia, there were 23 main camps — most of which had satellite camps. Auschwitz was not only a main camp, it was a complex in Nazi-occupied Poland with over 40 concentration and extermination camps.
Which brings me to the reason I’m not even listing the one I already knew: At least 2 are just part of a larger complex.
The hope that I shared during the [2025] practice is that there will be a time and a place when we can all breathe more easily and deeply; free of stress and strain, anxiety and fear, discomfort and disease. That is my hope for the future. But, I have another hope, a hope for right now: I hope, in this moment, that you will be disturbed enough by the information above that you will look into the history — at the very least, check out the blog post below. Then, I hope that the history will disturb you enough that you will pay attention to what is happening in the world today.
“Distance yourself from a false matter; and do not kill a truly innocent person or one who has been declared innocent, for I will not vindicate a guilty person.
You shall not accept a bribe, for a bribe will blind the clear sighted and corrupt words that are right.
And you shall not oppress a stranger, for you know the feelings of the stranger, since you were strangers in the land of Egypt.”
— “ordinances” in Shemot / Exodus 23:7–9
CLICK ON THE TITLE BELOW FOR MORE.
2024 / “For Those Who Missed It (& those who still don’t get it): Divine Remembrance”
Please join me today (Tuesday, January 27th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into in the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “012701 Holocaust Liberation & Remembrance”]
MUSIC NOTE: The playlists are slightly different, as some music is not available on Spotify. The YouTube playlist also includes videos of Holocaust survivors telling their stories (one of which is embedded below).
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 a new 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).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### PEACE IN, PEACE OUT ###
### AUM ###
A Quick Note, Links, & Excerpts Related to Creativity & Change (a post-practice Monday post) January 26, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Baseball, Books, Changing Perspectives, Confessions, Food, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Philosophy, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Alicia Keys, Bessie Coleman, change, Creativity, January 26th, Queen Bess, Virginia Woolf
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong! May you create the circumstance that all you to soar!
This is a short post-practice post for Monday, January 26th (with excerpts). The 2026 prompt question was, “How do you express your creativity?” 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.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“Unconsciousness, which means presumably that the under-mind, works at top speed while the upper-mind drowses, is a state we all know. We all have experience of the work done by unconsciousness in our own daily lives. You have had a crowded day, let us suppose, sightseeing in London. Could you say what you had seen and done when you came back? Was it not all a blur, a confusion? But after what seemed a rest, a chance to turn aside and look at something different, the sights and sounds and sayings that had been of most interest to you swam to the surface, apparently of their own accord; and remained in memory; what was unimportant sank into forgetfulness. So it is with the writer. After a hard day’s work, trudging round, seeing all he can, feeling all he can, taking in the book of his mind innumerable notes, the writer becomes—if he can—unconscious. In fact, his under-mind works at top speed while his upper-mind drowses. Then, after a pause the veil lifts; and there is the thing—the thing he wants to write about—simplified, composed. Do we strain Wordsworth’s famous saying about emotion recollected in [tranquility] when we infer that by [tranquility] he meant that the writer needs to become unconscious before he can create?”
— quoted from the essay “The Leaning Tower (A paper read to the Workers’ Educational Association, Brighton, May 1940.)” as it appears in The Moment and Other Essays by Virginia Woolf (b. 01/25/1882)
Sometimes, like today, the January 26th. practice picks up where the January 25th practice left off — with a little focus on how we can create the causes and conditions that foster more practice. These are the same causes and conditions that we find in a more just and more productive world.
This practice is typically inspired by people who celebrate(d) birthdays today. While I initially thought I would skip most of the birthday and anniversary references this year, and focus more on creating space for the mind to create, it turns out we created space for both.
Click on the excerpt title to discover why the practice involves some “flying lessons”.
In addition to Elizabeth “Bessie” Coleman (b. 1892), several other creative people were born today!
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE FOR MORE.
Creating: Music for This Date II (the “missing” Wednesday post)
“Create the world you want, and fill it with the opportunities that matter to you.”
— Alicia Keys (b. 01/25/1981)
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
NOTE: Links for the playlist inspired by the January 26th birthdays and anniversary are available in the posts excerpted above.
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).
### PLAN TO SOAR! ###
A Quick Note & EXCERPTS: “Who’s Afraid of Sitting, Breathing… in a Room?” & “Sitting, Breathing… in a Room” January 25, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Art, Books, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Hope, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Philosophy, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Alicia Keys, Burns Day, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Robert Burns, The Air I Breathe, Virginia Woolf, yoga
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere. “Happy Burns Day!” to those who are celebrating! May we all have sovereignty of our own selves.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“… a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction…”
— quoted from the essay “A Room of One’s Own,” as it appears in A Room of One’s Own And, Three Guineas by Virginia Woolf
Today is the anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns (b. 1759), Virginia Woolf (b. 1882), and Alicia Keys (b. 1981). As a side note, The Air I Breathe premiered in the United States today in 2008.
Not all of this comes up in the practice, but….
Click on the excerpt titles below for what Yoga and Virginia Woolf have in common.
NOTE: The excerpted posts begin the same, but are very different. The first (from 2025) focuses on storytelling. The second (from 2022) focuses on mental health.
Who’s Afraid of Sitting, Breathing… in a Room? (the “missing” Saturday post w/an excerpt)
“surājye dhārmike deśe subhikṣhe nirupadrave |
dhanuḥ pramāṇa-paryantaṃ śilāghni-jala-varjite |
ekānte maṭhikā-madhye sthātavyaṃ haṭha-yoghinā || 12 ||
The Yogī should practise [sic] Haṭha Yoga in a small room, situated in a solitary place, being 4 cubits square, and free from stones, fire, water, disturbances of all kinds, and in a country where justice is properly administered, where good people live, and food can be obtained easily and plentifully.”
— quoted from “Chapter 1. On Āsanas” of the Haţha Yoga Pradipika, translated by Pancham Sinh (1914)
Please join me today (Sunday, January 25th) at 2:30 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Sunday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “01252022 Sitting, Breathing… in a Room”]
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).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### SIT, BREATHE, KNOW YOU ARE SITTING & BREATHING ###
EXCERPT: “‘Doing: Lessons in unexpected, ridiculously inconvenient, unplayable things’” January 24, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Art, Changing Perspectives, Healing Stories, Life, Meditation, Music, One Hoop, Philosophy, Science, Wisdom, Yoga.Tags: 988, Improv, jazz, Keith Jarrett
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere. May everyone breathe deeply and receive the love you need (the way you need it)!
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
“You always want to make it as good as it can be, but… But when you have problems that you can’t do anything about, one after another, you start forgetting what you’re actually doing, until it’s time. And that’s one of the secrets….”
— Keith Jarrett in a 2007 interview about his (01/24/1975) Köln Concert
CLICK ON THE EXCERPT TITLE BELOW FOR MORE!
[FTWMI] “Doing: Lessons in unexpected, ridiculously inconvenient, unplayable things” *link added*
Please join me for a virtual yoga practice on Zoom, today (Saturday, January 24th) at 12:00 PM. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email me at myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Saturday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “0123-24/2022 Doing: Lessons in…”]
[NOTE: If it is accessible to you, please consider using the Spotify playlist (or this link with a Premium YouTube account) for the original music referenced in the practice. Even better, if you already have the album!
An authorized original recording is not available on YouTube (in the US) without a “Premium” membership and, after listening to several different “interpretations” — which do not / cannot include the vocalizations — I decided the Fausto Bongelli sounded the closest to the original. Sadly, one movement is missing and so I used a recording by Tomasz Trzcinkinski, who was the first person to record the music using the transcription. There are also now transcriptions for other instruments — which I didn’t sample, even though I think some of them would be lovely. There are also “covers” using electronic instruments, which I’m considering a hard pass (even if it seems contradictory to the theme), out of respect for the composer. ]
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).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### TRUST YOUR PLAY! ###
FTWMI: Q: Who Could Use A Hug Today? A: Everybody! January 21, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Healing Stories, Health, Life, Love, One Hoop, Yoga.Tags: 988, Catherine Caruso, Chase’s Calendar of Events, Health, hugs, International Hugging Day, Kevin Zaborney, Life, Love, Martin Buber, mental health, National Hugging Day, touch, Virginia Satir
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Many blessings to everyone, everywhere. May everyone breathe deeply and receive the love you need (the way you need it)!
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
For Those Who Missed It: The following was originally posted in 2025, and I decided to repost it rather than excerpt it. Class details, links, and some formatting have been updated.
“The world is not comprehensible, but it is embraceable: through the embracing of one of its beings.”
— Martin Buber
You can hug yourself (and embrace yourself) every day!
There is, also, something to be said for being hugged (and embraced) by others. Humans are sensational beings (i.e., creatures full of sensation) and the largest organ of the human body is skin: the sense organ associated with touch. In a 2024 Harvard University article entitled, “Exploring Our Sense of Touch from Every Angle: Harvard Medical School researchers are illuminating one of the most mysterious — and most essential — senses”, Catherine Caruso wrote, “Touch is the process by which specialized neurons sense tactile information from the skin and other organs and convey this information to the brain, where it is perceived as sensations such as pressure, temperature, vibration, and pain.”
Touch can be healing. While there are times when we don’t notice touch — and/ or take it for granted — and there are times when touch can be too much sensation, there are definitely times when we can have too little touch. There are times when we need touch. Sometimes, we even need a specific kind of touch: a hug. Hugs activate our sense of touch and have the added benefit of putting a little compression on the nervous system, which can be particularly helpful in certain situations.
Keeping all of that in mind, Kevin Zaborney, who was friends with the granddaughter of the owner of Chase’s Calendar of Events, created National Hugging Day. Now celebrated all over the world, it was first celebrated in 1986 in Clio, Michigan and today is the day! So, hug yourself and hug someone else (physically, with their permission) and hug everyone (metaphorically)!! Happy International Hugging Day!!!
“We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”
— Virginia Satir
Please join me today (Wednesday, January 21st) at 4:30 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or (for a slightly faster reply) you can email myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Wednesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “02082022 Celebrating Being Humans”]
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).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### ((o0)) ###
A Much Needed Break for the Brain (& other stuff) [just the music & blessings] January 20, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in Music, Yoga.Tags: 988, Art, brain, Health, Science, Yoga Sutras 1.30-1.34
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Warm wishes and many blessings to everyone, everywhere.
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
Please join me today (Tuesday, January 20th) at 12:00 PM or 7:15 PM for a yoga practice on Zoom. You can use the link from the “Class Schedules” calendar if you run into any problems checking into in the class. You can request an audio recording of this practice via a comment below or by emailing myra (at) ajoyfulpractice.com.
Tuesday’s playlist is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “02252024 Traveling Music”]
NOTE: One of the before/after practice songs is not available to everyone on Spotify.
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).
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
### 
###
A Quick Note, Links, & Excerpts Related to Freedom [& Dreaming] (a post-practice Monday post) January 20, 2026
Posted by ajoyfulpractice in "Impossible" People, Books, Buddhism, Changing Perspectives, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Faith, Healing Stories, Hope, Karma Yoga, Life, Meditation, One Hoop, Peace, Philosophy, Suffering, Wisdom, Writing, Yoga.Tags: 988, Art, B. A. Parker, Buddhism, Code Switch, Dolly Lama, Dolly Parton, freedom, injustice, Martin Luther King Day, Martin Luther King Jr, Michael E. Eidenmuller, Nicholas Buccola, Racism, yoga
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Many blessings to everyone, and especially for anyone celebrating the Holy Theophany of Jesus (Baptism of the Lord) May everyone breathe deeply and savor the richness of living a three dimensional life!
May you be safe and protected / May you be peaceful and happy / May you be healthy and strong!
This is a short post-practice post for Monday, January 19th (with excerpts). It includes some links that will direct you to a site outside of this blog. The 2026 prompt question was, “‘…which age would you like to live in?’” 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.
In the spirit of generosity (“dana”), the Zoom classes, recordings, and blog posts are freely given and freely received. If you are able to support these teachings, please do so as your heart moves you. (NOTE: You can donate even if you are “attending” a practice that is not designated as a “Common Ground Meditation Center” practice, or you can purchase class(es).
Donations are tax deductible; class purchases are not necessarily deductible.
Check out the “Class Schedules” calendar for upcoming classes.
“Something is happening in Memphis; something is happening in our world. And you know, if I were standing at the beginning of time, with the possibility of taking a kind of general and panoramic view of the whole of human history up to now, and the Almighty said to me, ‘Martin Luther King, which age would you like to live in?’ I would take my mental flight by Egypt and I would watch God’s children in their magnificent trek from the dark dungeons of Egypt through, or rather across the Red Sea, through the wilderness on toward the promised land. And in spite of its magnificence, I wouldn’t stop there.”
— quoted from the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered Wednesday, April 3, 1968, at Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
In anticipation of Martin Luther King Jr. Day — which is the third Monday in January for most of the United States1 — the January 17th episode of Code Switch featured B. A. Parker interviewing Nicholas Buccola, the historian and author of One Man’s Freedom. The book uses the activism and political engagement of Martin Luther King and Barry Goldwater to examine the concept of freedom and the interview discussed the ways in which these two public figures had different concepts of freedom.
The idea that “freedom” means something different to different people — and/or different groups of people — is something I have considered before. Of course, in philosophies like Yoga and Buddhism, freedom (and liberation) are related to the end of suffering; with pain being something physical and suffering being something mental and/or emotional. Physical pain can lead to mental and emotional suffering, and vice versa; however, one does not automatically lead to the other. Suffering, ultimately, comes down to attitude — even when someone is intentionally inflicting pain and suffering on others.
This is why someone very rich and (politically) powerful can be miserable, while someone financially and/or physically poor can have a good time.
This is why, as the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. illustrated in his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, someone can be happy even as they are struggling — and, sometimes, specifically because they believe their suffering will ultimately lead to the end of suffering.
Click on the excerpt titles below for other sermons that I have highlighted on MLK Day and for more about MLK.
A Quick Note, Links, & Excerpts Related to Life (a post-practice Monday post)
“Strangely enough, I would turn to the Almighty, and say, ‘If you allow me to live just a few years in the second half of the 20th century, I will be happy.’
Now that’s a strange statement to make, because the world is all messed up. The nation is sick. Trouble is in the land; confusion all around. That’s a strange statement. But I know, somehow, that only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. And I see God working in this period of the twentieth century in a way that men, in some strange way, are responding.
Something is happening in our world. The masses of people are rising up. And wherever they are assembled today, whether they are in Johannesburg, South Africa; Nairobi, Kenya; Accra, Ghana; New York City; Atlanta, Georgia; Jackson, Mississippi; or Memphis, Tennessee — the cry is always the same: ‘We want to be free.’”
— quoted from the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered Wednesday, April 3, 1968, at Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Today’s prompt question might seem strange and out of place in the context of a practice about being present, right here and right now. And I debated using it — even though I lifted it directly from Reverend King’s final speech. It is interesting to note that, like MLK’s answers, the answers on Monday night were related to change and, more than once, to times when people were struggling for civil rights and civil liberties.
It seems many people dream of change and, also, of being part of making those dreams come true.
“And I knew that as they were sitting in, they were really standing up for the best in the American dream, and taking the whole nation back to those great wells of democracy which were dug deep by the Founding Fathers in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution.”
— quoted from the “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech, delivered Wednesday, April 3, 1968, at Mason Temple (Church of God in Christ Headquarters), Memphis, Tennessee by Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.
Speaking of dreams, this year (2026), the third Monday in January happens to fall on the birthday of another dreamer, seeker, and preacher: the “Dolly Lama”!
Click on the excerpt title below for more about Dolly Partin, born January 19, 1946.
“If you don’t like the road you’re walking, start paving another one.”
— Dolly Parton
There is no playlist for the Common Ground Meditation Center practices.
NOTE: The “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech was Martin Luther King Jr’s final speech, as he was assassinated the following day (on April 4, 1968).
Click here to listen and/or read the speech on the American Rhetoric website.
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).
NOTE: 1While the third Monday in January is a federal holiday observed in all 50 states and the United States territories, not everyone observes it simply as “MLK Day”. Some states include “Civil Rights”, “Human Rights”, or “Equality” in the name. Other states (umm, specifically states in the South), have historically named the day after King and at least one Confederate general. While some of those Confederate observations have been eliminated, some were simply moved to other dates.
CORRECTION: During the 2026 practice, I erroneously said that Nicholas Buccola wrote about Martin Luther King Jr. and Bull Connors, as opposed to MLK and Barry Goldwater.
A Joyful Practice 