March 25 – The Practice of Equanimity
It is your resistance to things as they are that causes most of your unhappiness. Richard Rohr
Gregg’s Reflection
Equanimity is not about becoming detached or unfeeling — it’s about finding a steady center that is not thrown off course by life’s storms. I used to think peace came when all the problems were solved and all the work was done. Life has shown me that day never comes. Instead, peace is cultivated in the middle of unfinished business, unanswered questions, and unpredictable events.
I’ve watched people I admire walk through profound trials with a calm spirit. It wasn’t that they didn’t feel grief or fear — they simply refused to let those feelings steer the ship. I’ve come to see this as a fruit of deeply trusting God’s presence in all things.
For me, equanimity has grown through prayer, stillness, and choosing again and again to accept reality as it is, rather than as I wish it to be. As Richard Rohr says, much of our unhappiness comes from resisting reality. Letting go of that resistance frees us to live with open hands, receiving each moment as a gift.
Scripture
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
Isaiah 26:3
But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me.
Psalm 131:2
Ancient Quotes
Abbot Macarius said: If, wishing to correct another, you are moved to anger, you gratify your own passion. Do not lose yourself to save another.
Thomas Merton, Wisdom of the Desert, p. 31
Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm.
Publilius Syrus, Sententiae, Maxim 358
Modern Quotes
It is your resistance to things as they are that causes most of your unhappiness.
Richard Rohr, Yes, And…, p. 30
Equanimity is not detachment; it is full participation in life with an even heart.
Jack Kornfield, A Path with Heart, p. 184
Mindfulness is calm presence with what is, whether joy or pain, ease or difficulty, boredom or ecstasy, life or death. It is most commonly developed through a discipline of meditation or contemplation.
Bill Plotkin, Nature and the Human Soul, p. 284–285
Journaling Prompts
- When have you experienced a deep inner calm in the middle of difficulty?
- What practices help you return to a centered, grounded state?
- Where are you resisting reality right now?
- How could acceptance open the door to peace?
Leaders learn that any anxiety they show will magnify in the organization. Yet when the leader is calm in a storm, the people will calm. That is the value of a non-anxious presence.
👉 Go deeper into this week’s theme:
Read the full Week 12 Reflection: Equanimity