See an Enemy's Suffering

And so we continue to tune our compassion, snuggle in, big deliberate inhale, exhale and belly drops and fills. Do that again. Inhale. Exhale and really let your belly feel full, heavy, rooted, stable. Yes. Once you feel like you have this and only once you feel like you have this, root through the sit bones enough to feel the natural buoyant generosity of the heart. Elbows get a little heavier, shoulders relax back and down, hands rest perhaps palms up. Tune the alignment of your skull. Let the upper palate of the mouth dome and let your eyes feel kind and soft and gentle. And with the eyes soft and your awareness now on the gentle movement of the breath in the belly or more accurately the belly's response to the movement of the breath. As you feel ready and as it feels safe to do so, you're going to allow a being with whom you might have difficulty to come into your field. Someone who causes you trouble, somebody who feels like an obstacle, a hindrance, you might even use the word enemy. And just be aware, be aware of you suddenly ungrounded as you brought this being into your field and let the being stay in your field. Put them as far away as you need to and you can imagine them like down the other end of the football field. Come back to the feeling of grounded, tender eyes. So this is the first step being able to maintain this quality of rooted, open softness even as this person is in your attention. Really wait until this ground is established. So no need to start to try to do the mantra until you can hold this feeling or more accurately this feeling holds you. Okay? That's step one. Some of you might stay right here. Just tuning the feeling as you also allow this person to be here. Only if this is stable, then as you feel ready, inhale and as you exhale, I see your suffering. Inhale, exhale, I feel your suffering because no matter how awful each of us can be at different times, all of us are suffering. And so practicing being a witness, watching the temptation to be glad for another suffering or take sort of a sneaky pleasure in it, if and as that happens and it's likely it will, part of being a human being is being willing to be a human being. No need to scold yourself for feeling that way. Just notice and come back to the project at hand. Inhale and as you exhale, I see your suffering. Inhale, exhale, I feel your suffering. If it's easier, maybe inhale, exhale, I'm aware that you too suffer. Okay? If that helps create just a little bit of space. Inhale, exhale, I'm aware that you too suffer. Part of what this practice can reveal is the pleasure we take in disliking another. And yet part of what this practice is trying to reveal is that it doesn't actually feel good. And just to try to help find a different direction. Last few moments, I know it's not easy. But our dislike of others or our distaste for others really is the poison we drink. And these practices are designed to help dilute that. So last few moments, inhale, exhale, I feel your suffering soft in the belly. Inhale, exhale, I see your suffering soft in the eyes. Beautiful. Now relax the effort. Rest with your belly soft, eyes soft, maybe letting them open to help just kind of bring light back in. And so this is your homework for today. Because it's so likely that you will think on or encounter those with whom you have difficulty. And this is the play of tuning towards this channel as we come in contact. Love.