Meditiation in the face of despair

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I am writing this as I watch a situation unfolding in Paris where many people have died due to terrorist attacks.

The news and controversy we get piped to our living rooms is a cause for despair.  There is only one hope for man, I believe - that each individual person begins to focus on positive action.  Positive action, I believe comes from a well that we need to choose to fill daily with positive input.  I get this positive input from positive news feeds in facebook and from reading scripture and devotionals and from meditation. I have learned through hard lessons, that if I fill myself up with positive news and meditate on positive things in my spiritual life, I do not subject myself to the negative influence of controversy and negativity that pervades our culture and is especially noticeable on facebook. 

For me this is a journey and it starts every day with spending time meditating on scripture and the things of God.  I am a Christian and in my pursuit of the 12 steps of Nicotine Anonymous (adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous) led me to regular God-centered meditation.  This has lead to a deep well of joy and peace that I can tap into at any time.  I am referring especially to the practice of mindfulness. Mindfulness is focusing on breath and the emotions and sights and sounds that you are currently experiencing.  This is a practice that is common to Buddhism and to Christianity - at least from the mystic side of Christianity. I do this meditation every morning. I have adapted the process to what works for me. First, I get my meditation candle and light it.  I read some daily devotional.  Then I stare at the candle and focus on my breath.  In and out.  I notice my feelings and sensations.  Time slows down.  Then I listen for the sweet whisper from God (this is the Christian part): pictures or thoughts that I recognize come from my creator.  I learned to recognize God speaking to me by studying scripture for 20 years, but thankfully it doesn't take that long for most people.  Sometimes I do Lectio Divina: a practice of meditating on scripture developed by Benedictine monks.

When I do this, I find myself being mindful during the day.  When I walk up to the corner store, I notice my foot steps and the birds chirping and the feelings I am feeling, the wind on my face.  The sights and sounds around me.  I am filled with a deep joy and peace.  I notice beautiful plants growing up through cracks in the pavement and at the edge of the parking lot.  I notice the change in seasons.  I notice my own emotions.  And I am more likely to notice God talking to me in the quiet whisper of my soul.

This is not to say, that we should not be informed.  I don't think we should shut ourselves out from bad news.  It is a fact of life.  But if we are not filling ourselves up with the positive too, we will succumb to despair. Then we will not be able to make positive contributions to life that can only come out of a deep well of positivity that we must cultivate.

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