Wednesday, March 11, 2009 by Dave Blum

It’s hard enough trying to cope with the economic situation when we don’t even know what to call it.

A “recession”? — doesn’t sound strong enough

A “depression”? — sounds, well, depressing

An “Economic Downturn”? — that’s probably the most accurate, although it doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue.

I’ve decided I’m going to start calling it “ED“.

“So, how’s ED treating you?”   “Has your business been affected by ED?”  “What changes have you made in response to ED?”

Sounds a lot friendlier, doesn’t it?

The fact is, whether you run corporate team building activities and scavenger hunts like me, or have recently lost your job, or are fighting to hold onto your mortgage, or are struggling to send your kids to college — almost none of us has avoided the long arm of ED. I’d like to offer you the meditation I do every morning to keep myself centered.  It goes like this:

I am grateful for my health.
I am grateful for my home.
I am grateful for my wife.
I am grateful for my family.
I am grateful for my friends.
I am grateful for my work.
I am grateful for all the pleasures in life (ie. movies, books, sports, food, travel, etc.)
I acknowledge that everything will change.  All things that arise will pass away, and new things will arise in their place.  Such is the way the universe works.  I will enjoy everything and everyone while they last.

I often follow that up with a small bit of “metta”, a pali word that essentially means the strong wish for the welfare and happiness of others.

It goes like this:

May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be safe, both in body and in mind.
May I awake from the trances that take me out of the present.
May I move through the world with greater and greater ease,  more and more free from my habits and conditional responses, which limit my choices and cause suffering to me and to others.
May I be well.

May all beings feel safe.
May all beings feel happy.
May all beings feel strong.
May all beings live with ease.
May all beings, without omission, be well.