meditation
preparing for unemployment
what I would say to anyone who asks me
what I say to myself
thoughts on Louise Glueck’s short speech on being congratulated for receiving the Nobel Prize for her poetry
she said the driver is waiting, he has to earn his living, let me go
—
preparing for unemployment
prepares us for unemployment
provided we are willing to prepare
breathing in and out
scanning the sensations in the body
when we are ready
after maybe ten minutes
we say
come forth my fear
I see you fear
the space in my body
is very open
I approach you fear
and now I am ready
and here I am
giving you a big, vast, warm,
luminous hug
here I am
o fear of unemployment
you came into my body
into this space
the fear that we will no longer live together
not in this named place
or any other place
not in this community
or our village
fear rages
but I embrace it
with kindness
with a luminous hug
I give my fear
protection and
tearfully
fear having arisen passes away
meaningfully living and loving
preparing for change
we hug our fear
and see what happens
all things are under the protection of kind beings
fear is protected and given shelter
we are both givers and those
to whom we give
we are not an isolated self
the moral duty of humanity is to feed the hungry
the hungry are innocent
children are hungry
children are innocent
and tearfully in joy
in our own vast open space
adults embrace change
living compassionately
hugging our fears
until any other plan
has been made
and comes to fruition
spreading loving kindness
embracing unemployment
embracing our loved ones
if we are dispersed
if we are together
I embrace the fear
of family break up
of unemployment
of hunger
and thus fear is happy
and goes away
I have got you
I have got this
the poet says
Anandi Sharan is an author
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