In the wake of the hurricane that blew through our region and touched everyone, we are once again reminded that our ability to weather these inevitable meteorological events are not unlike our ability to weather the inevitable emotional and psychological storms in our lives. Both call us to remember that we have qualities needed for resilience already within us. Some of these qualities will be called upon in the coming days, especially in an election season fraught with deeply opposed philosophies.

In an article in the New York Times a few days ago entitled “Learning to Bounce Back” we were told that what psychologists and neuroscientists say is needed for our resilience is “the reach of our social networks…quality of our close relationships [and]…..our beliefs and habits of mind.”

When we practice mindfulness and kindness, we cultivate and develop qualities and habits of heart and mind that strengthen our resilience and help us to bounce back from the storms of life, whatever their accompanying hardships. Compassion, the “fluttering of the heart in response to suffering” is one such strengthened quality—it is an emanation of loving kindness, not grounded in pity or fear but, rather, a deep supportive response of the heart based on the dignity, integrity and well-being of every single creature. It is the spontaneous response to the suffering and pain we encounter. It is our feeling of mutual resonance and natural connectedness in the face of the universal experience of loss and pain. In this election/hurricane season, can we cultivate compassion, starting with compassion for ourselves?

We start with compassion for ourselves, which gives rise to the power to transform resentment into forgiveness, hatred into friendliness, and fear into respect for all beings. Compassion for ourselves allows us to extend warmth, sensitivity and openness to the sorrows around us in a present, truthful and genuine way. True compassion arises from a profound sense that the heart has a fearless capacity to embrace all things, to touch all things, to relate to all things.

Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche called this the spiritual warrior’s tender heart of sadness. He said:

“This sadness doesn’t come from being mistreated. You don’t feel sad because someone has insulted you or because you feel impoverished. Rather, this experience of sadness is unconditioned. It occurs because your heart is completely open, exposed. It is the pure raw heart. Even if a mosquito lands on it, you feel so touched…It is this tender heart of a warrior that has the power to heal the world.”

What is it like to move through the world with that open, exposed, raw heart? Can you bring that tender heart to your experiences and to the experiences of all of our fellow beings who have weathered the storms to differing degrees?