There are times in our lives when it seems that we can't carry another load. Our reserves are spent, we can't summon energy or enthusiasm. Yet, we somehow seem to get through it. The devastation in Japan certainly puts our burdens in perspective. I can't imagine what it must be like to be there right now. And what do we see from the Japanese? Order, calm, resilience. Wonder if that would happen here? I also wonder if it has to do with their long Buddhist tradition and it's teachings on impermanence. The Japanese have had centuries of not just the teaching, but the direct experience of it on a national scale. I sometimes think that we in America don't get the notion of impermanence---we think we and us are immortal. Not so.
So, when you think the burden you carry is about to crush you, think of the Japanese and it might help with your perspective and assist you in carrying your burden. If you could find a way to get the right perspective and put your burden down, not pick another one, then you can truly live your life as it is, when it is. Living that way is a mindful life, a life free from the grasping, clinging, and craving that give rise to the burdens in the first place.
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