Language is not universal and figure out the world through a culture, carrying centuries of opinions, acts of previous generations, heritage of the environment etc. As for me French is the mother tongue, I discovered very late in my education that history classes I received at school gave me some false ideas of the past and brought some facts in a very singular and colonialist way. I learned the word equanimity in the field of Dharma talks. And it releases a bit of my anxiety in giving another word to perceive differently the world. Equanimity allows to meet situations as "neither nor" that often brings me to doubt in a peaceful way, patiently. As in the actual society, you have to give an opinion to be considered, judge to choose the best, compete to get success and more. With equanimity I come slowly to understand what it is to meet the feelings and the beliefs of right or wrong, good or bad, success or failure in a gentle way, much more subtle and opened to life than judgmental thoughts, often carried by violence. So I come slowly to understand better and better what this word equanimity means and I thank you for the precisions of the translation from Pali, I learned something very interesting. May you be blessed, safe and at ease.
Hi Juliette! I'm going through some of my old writing and just returned to your thoughtful comment. Thank you for this reflection! re: the realization of having learned things in a singular and colonialist perspective, I've had several moments in the last month of confronting whether an idea is my own or something I was taught was "correct" in that singular and colonialist perspective you speak of. It takes a lot of internal knowing! Glad to hear that you're able to unlearn some things and practice equanimity along the way.
Language is not universal and figure out the world through a culture, carrying centuries of opinions, acts of previous generations, heritage of the environment etc. As for me French is the mother tongue, I discovered very late in my education that history classes I received at school gave me some false ideas of the past and brought some facts in a very singular and colonialist way. I learned the word equanimity in the field of Dharma talks. And it releases a bit of my anxiety in giving another word to perceive differently the world. Equanimity allows to meet situations as "neither nor" that often brings me to doubt in a peaceful way, patiently. As in the actual society, you have to give an opinion to be considered, judge to choose the best, compete to get success and more. With equanimity I come slowly to understand what it is to meet the feelings and the beliefs of right or wrong, good or bad, success or failure in a gentle way, much more subtle and opened to life than judgmental thoughts, often carried by violence. So I come slowly to understand better and better what this word equanimity means and I thank you for the precisions of the translation from Pali, I learned something very interesting. May you be blessed, safe and at ease.
Hi Juliette! I'm going through some of my old writing and just returned to your thoughtful comment. Thank you for this reflection! re: the realization of having learned things in a singular and colonialist perspective, I've had several moments in the last month of confronting whether an idea is my own or something I was taught was "correct" in that singular and colonialist perspective you speak of. It takes a lot of internal knowing! Glad to hear that you're able to unlearn some things and practice equanimity along the way.
xo Jessica