I’ll never forget what my friend Lee said to me many years ago.

It was the end of an amazing summer that we had spent working as interns at a Jewish spiritual retreat center in the Catskills.

I had been moving around a lot at that time in my life, and was sharing with Lee how much I disliked the transitions. “I feel so overwhelmed. I get all stressed and anxious about packing,” I lamented.

After a moment of quiet connection, Lee looked at me with a glimmer in her eyes and a half smile. “And you know what?” she said. “Maybe this time it’ll be different.”

Those words have stayed with me all these years.

Connecting with a sense of possibility is the first step to healing, transformation and change.

We all get stuck in ruts and old habits. And on the social level, things can feel equally intractable, from the climate crisis to the pandemic to the gridlock in government.

When we feel stagnant, hopeless or down, it’s hard to remember that the future is not written. Every day, every moment, brings new possibilities — if we are alert and open to them. Without vision, without the idea or sense that things can be different, we’re unlikely to shift our perspective or discover new ways of being.

In Buddhist teachings, the word for this glimmer of hope, this ray of light that enters our hearts is saddha. It is a sense of trust, confidence, or aspiration that says, “Maybe things could be different...”

Where do you feel stuck in life, believing things can never change? What would you do differently if you had that glimmer of possibility, of aspiration?

With so many urgent problems in society, I think this sense of possibility is sorely needed. One area that I’ve devoted myself to is learning how to improve our communication—a core vehicle for change personally and collectively.

If you're interested in getting ‘un-stuck’ in your communication, I'm co-leading a special program on Saturday, October 23rd, through the Garrison Institute with author Kim Loh, Transformation through Dialogue: Building Resilient Foundations. If you're interested in developing a stable inner foundation to navigate hard conversations, join us for the day.

Warmly, 

Oren

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