On January 11th, 2016, I started a daily practice of writing a joke meditation of the day called Cracked Pot Meditations. I was still recovering from the treatment of cancer, and I was having very challenging cognitive issues, so I chose just to put something simple and easy to write every day. Posting it to the blog allowed me to have some accountability. Some of those meditations were poorly written and unedited. I have gone back and begun editing these and adding an illustration, starting with the April 27th meditation. I hope you enjoy.
Meditation for August 12th
Being Accountable
Sometimes I don’t have anything amazing to say, so I keep showing up no matter what. I know this is a meditation blog where self-care reigns dominant and we are taught that selfishness is an act of therapeutic action. Still, it is a betrayal of the one thing that actually keeps us healthy: community. Our culture has prioritized individuality to the point where we are floating in a void, unsure of how to be human anymore. Much of this is due to the homogenizing advertising industry, masquerading as “social” media, yet we are alone.
We have forgotten how to show up for each other. We can watch communities around the globe be burnt to non-existence, and we feel helpless because we feel alone. We need each other now more than ever. The first step is to be accountable to each other and show up.
I show up if I’m uncomfortable.
I show up if I’m angry.
I show up if I’m petrified.
I’ll even show up if I’m down and sad.
Depression won’t stop me from showing up.
Irritation won’t stop me from showing up.
Being fed up with how things are being done won’t stop me from showing up.
I’ll show up even if I’m happy.
I’ll show up if I’m successful.
I will show up after all the bad things are over, and I feel serene.
I will even show up if it’s just the right thing to do.
If I say I am going to show up, I will show up.
This is for jobs.
My relationship.
Friends.
Family.
Fellowship.
My art.
This blog.
Even if this is all I can do, I will show up no matter what. If I say I’m going to show up, I will. When I start not showing up, I need to worry about myself.
Even if it’s not exciting or new.
Even if I think, but don’t know, that the grass looks greener over there.
Even if I don’t have any more ideas for this blog, I’ll show up and hope the ideas start to come again.
Luckily, I get inspiration from AA meetings, blogs, things I heard on the bus, Facebook, work interactions, and my crazy ass brain.
Be back tomorrow with something else.
Keep showing up to life.
Prayer
The entire pantheon,
Gods, Goddesses, and demi-gods,
Hear our prayers,
Let us come to your temples again,
Instead of hiding deep in our caves,
Thinking that self-care,
is more important than helping each other,
To be so selfish,
That we turn our back on our loved ones,
for a bubble bath.
Let me be accountable to my fellow man,
So that we can be strong together,
And we will need all the Gods,
To give us the power.
Amen
Craft
Get a group of people together. Ask everyone to bring their favorite pieces of fabric, maybe a shirt. Sew the pieces together and create a quilt. Enjoy each other’s company. Do gossip. Do tell stories. Do eat snacks and drink tea. Do love.
Yes, the quilt may not look great, but it is put together with community and love, making it better than a perfect store-bought quilt.
Goal
In a world of self-care crybabies, be a rock for your community. Sometimes we get tired and don’t want to, but at the end of the day, we will help ourselves as much as we help others. I’d add a caveat about not assisting toxic people, too, but I feel like that becomes an excuse every time. I firmly believe that if we love someone, we can be there for them, and all we have to do is show up.
The day you need people to show up and you’re there for them, you will be surrounded when you need it.