A wound takes time to heal.

All around the world—from Myanmar to Minneapolis—we see the deep need for healing in our families, communities and society. We need to heal from the wounds of colonialism, slavery, racism, sexual violence, hate and poverty.

Different kinds of wounds call for different kinds of medicine.

Contemplative practice offers the space to step back and pause, so that we can assess a situation and proceed with more clarity and love. It can’t solve all of our problems, but it can provide a framework to develop the inner resources to engage more effectively.

I didn’t have the resources to handle the difficult emotions I experienced as a teenager. Things felt out of control. To cope, I buried myself in schoolwork and pretended I was okay. 

I got so good at pretending that I convinced myself I really was okay. It took years of meditation to realize how angry I felt, how much pain I was in.

I remember sitting with a counselor in my late 20s, filled with frustration and impatience. I was tired of feeling so trapped inside. I wanted to get over the painful emotions I’d been carrying for so long. 

He looked at me with great warmth in his eyes and said, “The slower you go, the faster you go.” 

I learned something important in that moment. You can’t rush healing. It takes time. It requires certain conditions: patient, loving attention. Care and understanding. Space to breathe. 

Consider the last time you got a scrape or a cut: how does the body heal? It begins at the edges, and it takes time. If you tend to it and keep it clean, it will heal on its own.

So it is with the heart. The first step is to recognize the hurt. We can spend years (even a lifetime), avoiding pain, burying it, running away from it. Turning towards the hurt and acknowledging it opens the door to healing and transformation. 

Next, we do our best to create supportive conditions: we clean the wound, carefully setting aside any shards of the past. Then, we nourish it and we wait.

Just as a river knows the way to the sea, our hearts will remember their wholeness and heal with the right support. 

If you’d like to gather in community and get some support on your own journey, I invite you to join me for one of my upcoming meditation sessions this month. You can learn more and sign up on my website.

Warmly, 

Oren

Upcoming Classes

Wed 4/7, Foundations of Contemplative Practice *

Wed 4/14, Holding On, Letting Go: Healthy Attachment and Buddhist Practice *

Mon 4/19, Compassion, Equanimity and Social Change *

Sat 4/24, The Healing Wisdom of the Body

Sun 4/25, Beyond the Self-Improvement Project *

* Offered on a donation basis

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