How are we to disregard
others’ opinions of us?
Are we to repress our emotions
and lie to ourselves about what we feel?
Shall we recite pithy affirmations
and assume haughty body language?
For this is the counsel
of contemporary psychology.
However, the Buddha cautioned us
(and biology agrees)
that we evolved to deeply value
the good opinions of our fellows.
Easier it is to remove the wetness from water
or the heat from a flame
than to rewire our brain’s
fundamental core.
After all the Buddha’s path
is not one of transformation
but rather reconciliation.
The Buddha’s way
is to use meditation to confront
the pain of others’ ill opinion of us
as well as the frustration
of not being able to do
anything meaningful about it.
Upon the Buddha’s path
we confront the painful (without and within)
and make peace with it.
Not with platitudes
but with mindfulness and release.
Let us conclude
with a simple
call to action
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