April Ambles: Equanimity
Reflections of a Philosophical Forager — Day 5
Equanimity, according to one definition, is “a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may cause others to lose the balance of their mind.”
Ruth King says, “equanimity is awareness so spacious that whatever arises in our mind and heart, whether agreeable or disagreeable, is small and incidental compared to awareness itself.”
Derived from the Latin aequanimitas, having an even mind, I think of the term as representing equality, with no judgement for the good or the bad, all things being created equal.
Jack Kornfield holds that the “enemy of equanimity is indifference or callousness,” stating that “true equanimity is…a balanced engagement with all aspects of life.” Also, “Knowing that all will change and that the world of conditioned phenomena is insubstantial, with equanimity we are able to be fully present and in harmony with it.”
On a late night, when conversations with one I love have been difficult to reconcile, I weigh the notion of equanimity, and hope that sleep will bring the understanding I seek, leading me to see, in the end, that nothing really matters…except the capacity to love.
For more amblings from the author, check out Child of the Woods: An Appalachian Odyssey.
