26/11/2023
.:MEDITATION DOES NOT MEAN INACTION:.
“I'm going to say this again:
Meditation is not an excuse.
It's not an excuse for inaction.
It's not an excuse for "sitting around doing nothing".
It's not about believing that the world is an illusion - because why would I engage with an illusory world?
It's not about believing that the world is perfect - because why would I need to engage with an already-perfect world?
In my experience, meditation actually cuts through all this dogma and belief.
It softens extremes and brings flow where there was stagnation.
We can meditate AND take action.
We can meditate AND do things, conscious things, kind things, fierce things, brave things, soft things, authentic things, to change the world, help the world, heal the world, make the world a better place.
We can meditate AND rise up, protest, speak truth, make art, take action, have hard conversations, stand up for the vulnerable, protect those we love.
Meditation, in my experience, is never an excuse for inaction.
Quite the opposite.
Meditation can actually help us process our anger, our grief, our resistance to change, our blocks against moving in the world.
Meditation can calm the heart, soothe the nervous system, help us see things more clearly, more lovingly, more rightly, get us out of our minds, out of old thinking, and help us find new solutions and new perspectives.
Meditation can help us listen more deeply to others, and God knows, we need that right now.
Meditation can actually HELP us take action, you see. It can give us the strength and courage to act.
And yes.... sometimes we just want to get away from the world, hang out in the silence, bathe in the stillness, go into our private sanctuary away from the billion things of duality, and that's okay too. Meditation doesn't tell us what to do.
Meditation does not mean inaction, it's really quite active, and quite alive, when you truly understand its roots.”
- Jeff Foster
📸Fraser Island, Australia 2020