Enlightened Living

Mindfulness practice in everyday life.

Michael J. Formica, MS, MA, EdM is a psychotherapist, social scientist, and educator in Westport CT. He is an Initiate in the Shankya Yoga lineage. See full bio

September 14, 2009, Spirituality

Mindfulness and Skillful Means in the Face of the Economic Crisis

Less is more…or wanting what you have…

It's not getting better any time soon. Gas prices are rising steadily, there 16 million unemployed, the stock market is struggling to get out of its summer slumber, new housing starts are flat and, while credit markets remain paralyzed, existing home sales are reading a false positive only because of the foreclosure market. So, what are we to do? Well, enjoy it, of course...

It would be beyond insensitive not to recognize the gravity of the current economic situation. We are seeing an average of 300,000 home foreclosures per month. Unemployment in Michigan has reached 15% and the country as a whole, while not yet in double digits, is keeping pace. Banks are, quite literally, disappearing and the net worth of the average American has dropped 40%, while in the more tony suburbs of Westport, Greenwich, Beverly Hills, Marin and their surrounds sometimes as much as 60%. OK, yikes...but...

My friend Carolyn changed her own headlight the other day. Now, most of you are likely saying, "No big deal...". True...although Carolyn, an immensely talented 25-year-old artist, still differentiates a Philips-head screwdriver from a flathead by calling them the "pointy one" and the "regular one" (sorry, sweetie...). She did this because the headlight was $6 and the labor charge was $30. Skillful means.

What if, instead of lamenting no longer being able to afford the cleaning girl, we took the time to notice the grain of the wood in the dining room table as we dust it? Mindfulness.

What if we learned to change the cartridge in that leaky faucet ourselves, rather than calling a plumber? Skillful means.

What if we brought the bottles back to the grocery for the deposit, rather than throwing them into the recycle bin -- or, worse, throwing them away. Mindfulness - for the planet, too.

What if, instead of falling prey to our material poverty, whether real or perceived, and the poverty mentality, we used it as an opportunity to draw ourselves out of the poverty mentality and into a state of abundance? Conscious connection.

What would Jesus do?...build a house, brick by brick. What would Buddha do?...chop wood, carry water. What would Krishna do?...herd goats, singing and dancing the whole time.

So...what are you going to do? Live in fear or live in joy?

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