Equanimity
What is equanimity?
Equanimity is a quality of the mind and the heart that is impartiality. Equanimity is the quality of mind that receives everything equally, without preference for one or the other, and is specifically the quality of the mind or heart which is necessary when we are faced with change. The opposite is probably quite familiar: the reactive mind.
We can call this quality equanimity, or we can call it composure, imperturbability.
Equanimity also has a large element of open-heartedness in it, and contains a quality of inner strength and flexibility. We're all born with equanimity - with some level of composure, inner strength and open-heartedness.
What does it mean, to practice or develop / generate equanimity?
It means recognising our happiness is not dependent on the conditions that surround us, the circumstances of our life. That kind of dependency leads us to think: "If only I could change this / if only I didn't have to work so hard / get up so early / if I had that job / more money / that car / got rid of that person, then things would be perfect, and I would be really happy."
The classic phrase used to meditate on to generate equanimity is "My happiness depends on my actions and my intentions, not on others' wishes or my wishes." Our happiness or unhappiness is dependent on the actions we take with our body, our speech and our life. It means we are not at the behest of the ebb and flow of life around us. Our happiness is not subject to the constant changes, big or small, that are inevitable and sometimes appear to be obstacles in our daily life. If we can meet change brought upon us with an open heart, and take action from a place of awareness, we will experience equanimity.
Perhaps you're the kind of person that is happy to go with the flow, never make plans, and in that way are never really bothered much by change. Or you might be the type of person to welcome change, even thrive on it. Regardless of how we feel about change, we are all faced, at times, with changes in our lives that are unexpected, unwelcome and not of our own making. Then I invite you to take a moment to consider the deeper meaning of equanimity:
Equanimity describes a complete openness to the experience as it unfolds, without judgment. Equanimity doesn't insist that happiness arises from ways that we think it should. Equanimity is a balance between compassion and patience, so that we care, even when people close to us do unwelcome things. Equanimity means inner strength and courage, giving us the ability to face both the happy and the sad of life and in the world with equal composure.
Recently I read a book called Sadhguru, the story of the life of an Indian teacher, in which a paragraph stood out and feels vaguely relevant to the topic of equanimity: "When we see life just as it is; you realise it is multidimensional. You realise that, if you don't enjoy the whole scope of life, it's a foolish way to live. There is no "this is it" or "that is it". There is not "this" or "that", and "that's that!" There is no yes and no. There is just yes and yes."
With that level of open-heartedness, with that kind of flexibility, we would have the kind of equanimity and flexibility which opens up endless possibilities.
We can actually feel this quality - it isn't just a word or an idea. You can practice generating equanimity by meditating upon this quality. The classic phrase we use when meditating on generating equanimity is: "My happiness or unhappiness depends on my intentions and actions - not upon my or others' wishes."
To practice a meditation on equanimity, please see here
