A Joyful Practice

The Bitter and the Sweet (a post-practice Monday note) March 11, 2024

“Ramadān Mubarak, Blessed Ramadān!” to anyone observing the holy month of Ramadān. (Keep your eyes open!) Many blessings to all, and especially to those observing Lent and/or the 19-Day Fast. May we be open to peaceful possibilities throughout this “Season for Nonviolence” and all other seasons!

This is a post–practice note for Monday, March 11^th. The post references racism, war, and famine (although these are not explicitly mentioned during the practice). You can request an audio recording of either 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.)

“[JOSEPH] ASAGAI: Then isn’t there something wrong in a house – in a world – where all dreams, good or bad, must depend on the death of a man?”

— quoted from Act III, Scene One of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

When there is conflict, particularly conflict related to religion and/or ethnicity and race (not to mention any number of other immutable traits), we sometimes forget that we do not live in a binary universe. There are not just people of color and white people in the United States. There are not just Jewish people and Muslim people in the Middle East. There are not just Christians and non-Christians in the world. Neither are there just two groups in any conflict. But, there is one thing we all are: People.

We are all people who deserve a little sugar in our bowl, metaphorically as well as physically. We will get to the physical; but, let’s start with the metaphorical.

“I want a little sugar in my bowl
I want a little sweetness down in my soul
I could stand some lovin’, oh so bad
Feel so funny, I feel so sad

I want a little steam on my clothes”

— quoted from the song “I Want A Little Sugar in My Bowl” by Nina Simone

Metaphorically speaking, what is the little bit of sweetness you want in the bowl that is your life?

Above and beyond having the basic necessities in life — food, water, shelter, and the ability to rest — your experiences and the experiences of those around you determines how you visualize and conceive of that sweetness. For example, Lorraine Hansberry’s childhood experiences became A Raisin in the Sun, which premiered on Broadway, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, today in 1959. Named after a line from the Langston Hughes poem “Harlem,” the award-winning play is about a family whose American dream is to live in a nice, safe neighborhood without facing racism and hostilities.

We live in a different time than the Hansberrys lived and each of us may have experiences that lead us to desire something that appears very different — on the outside. Ultimately, however, all of our sweet dreams boil down to the same things: We all want peace, safety, contentment, freedom, and love (e.g., that sense of belonging/being part of something more than ourselves).

Many people seek that sweetness through their spiritual and/or religious practice. As I have mentioned over the last few weeks, this is the time of year when many religious communities around the world are observing and/or are about to observe their holiest times. People within some Western Christian communities are entering the fourth week of Lent; people in the Baháʼí Faith community are in the second week of the 19–Day Fast; and the holy month of Ramadān has just begun. Furthermore, Great Lent (in the Orthodox Christian communities) begins next week, more communities will soon celebrate a new year and a new season, Passover is next month, and there are even more celebrations in between.

“‘Yet others abstain from food and practice sacrifice by spiritualizing their vital energy – that is, by figuratively pouring their own vital life force into the Cosmic Life Force. The whole point of all these various methods of sacrifice (worship) is to develop a certain mental attitude. Those who live with a truly worshipful attitude, whose whole lives are offered up for improvement of the world, incur no sin (no karmic debt).

‘This world is not for the person who performs no sacrifice, no worship. But those who actually live their lives as an offering partake of the nectar of God. Through selflessness they reach the Divine.’”

— Krishna speaking to Arjuna (4.30 – 31) in The Bhagavad Gita: A Walkthrough for Westerners by Jack Hawley

For some people, fasting during a sacred time is one of the pillars or foundations of faith and an important element of worship. The same is true for giving something up and donating to charity. From the outside, it may just look like a luxury to be able to do these things. To someone on the inside of a tradition, these activities can be necessities of faith. Yet, as I have mentioned repeatedly over the last few weeks, since fasting is not meant to be abusive and/or a form of punishment, each major religion has exclusions based on age and physical–mental conditions. Just as there were people who were not able to fast because of COVID, there are people who have not been able to fully observe Lent, the 19–Day Fast, Great Lent, Passover, the holy month of Ramadān, and a host of other religious traditions and rituals because of war and famine.

I am specifically mentioning famine, because it sometimes gets overlooked and because it is something that is so unnecessary. I do not mean to imply that war and disease are necessary or that they are easily avoidable. But, famine is a different story.

Famine is a different story because there is enough food in the world. In fact, there is enough food to feed 1.5x the current world population.

Just think about that for a moment.

We could break that down as food for everyone on the plant plus 2.5 – 3 billion people who don’t exist. Or, we could break that down as having enough food for 2.5 – 3 billion people to go back for a second helping. Just to put all that into perspective: The largest countries in the world are still under 2 billion people. And yet, people are experiencing famine.

Take a moment to give thanks for what you have. Then, consider how you can help someone else have that metaphorical sweetness in the bowl that is their life.

Spoiler Alert: While what you can do is not necessarily about money, it is always about power. You have the power.

“[JOSEPH] ASAGAI: You wanted to be God – ?

BENEATHA [YOUNGER]: No – I wanted to cure. It used to be so important to me. I wanted to cure. I used to care. I mean about people and how their bodies hurt –

[JOSEPH] ASAGAI: And you’ve stopped caring – ?”

— quoted from Act III, Scene One of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

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

The playlist used for the 2023 practice is available on YouTube and Spotify. [Look for “05192021 Being in The Middle”]

NOTE: The before/after music includes different artists performing Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” (with an intro I don’t think I had ever heard): on YouTube it’s Jennifer Hudson; on Spotify it’s Aretha Franklin.

“To Mama:
in gratitude for the dream”

— quoted from the dedication of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

“MAMA [YOUNGER]: Crazy ’bout his children! God knows there was plenty wrong with Walter Younger hard-headed, mean, kind of wild with women – plenty wrong with him. But he sure loved his children. Always wanted them to have something be something. That’s where Brother gets all these notions, I reckon. Big Walter used to say, he’d get right wet in the eyes sometimes, lean his head back with the water standing in his eyes and say, ‘Seem like God didn’t see fit to give the black man nothing but dreams – but He did give us children to make them dreams seem worth while.’”

— quoted from Act I, Scene One of A Raisin in the Sun by Lorraine Hansberry

### Respect your dreams and the dreams of the children around you. ###