The Paris drama is making headlines and today is a day of national mourning. Internationally, waves of compassion are breaking. When pain is raging, words are missing, questions are invading our minds, I think it’s more important than ever to stop and meditate.

I still have a lot of work to do on meditation, but here is what I have learned so far.

Meditation and suffering

Why meditate when it’s often the last thing you want to do? First, not to spread the suffering even more. It is too easy when one is angry to say and act too fast by spreading even more seeds of pain to others. I think of the reactions that condemn religions too quickly, or of social movements with petitions that ban the entry into my country, Canada, of people who might well need asylum, on a reaction based on fear.

Then we should meditate to try to understand our suffering and live it. To not be indifferent. In doing so, we open the doors of compassion for all other suffering beings.

Meditation also brings inner peace. We become at peace, being peace, we propagate its action.

Then, to act with zeal, compassion, and courage. First, at the personal level, we must see where we can improve in non-violence, and avoid spreading suffering through our consumption and our actions a little better every day. Then, collectively, we can act with cohesion in a peaceful way, like signing petitions that go in that direction. We can affirm our disagreement with the forms of violence and war. There is currently a meeting of the G20 where we hear echoes of a “very strong, very hard” response and we should not adopt measures that cause even more suffering.

Some meditation tracks with suffering to feel better

1 . A few times a day, stop to live our suffering. Let come and go our emotions. If you want to cry, you do it.

2. Analyze if the suffering comes from our ego or empathy. If it’s through the ego, do our best to put it aside. For example, I did not know the drama on Friday and I put online a joke on Friday 13. I felt bad when I learned the drama a few moments later, but I forgave myself, not knowing it, l I erased, and focused on the real drama.

3. Live peace here and now. Offer our comfort as best as we can to the relatives of victims. And continue to live. We have the incredible chance to be alive, savor it.

4. Transform our suffering for a better planet. Thinking of suffering beings, offering by our thoughts and actions of compassion then real solutions.