On Flag Day & Mantras
- Caroline Mauldin
- Jun 28, 2023
- 4 min read
In a world full of people who seem to know everything, passionately, based on little (often slanted) information, where certainty is often mistaken for power, what a relief it is to be in the company of someone confident enough to stay unsure (that is, perpetually curious).
- George Saunders
I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the heart's affections, and the truth of imagination.
-John Keats
Dear friend,
Happy Flag Day 2023! Also known as my 40th birthday! Yes, today is that day, and, surprise surprise, I have some things to say.
First things first: shout out to my exceptional parents, Melanie and Tom, for bringing me into this beautiful and preposterous world. In your honor, I shall continue to make the most of this one wild and precious life, though I promise my bullfighting days are behind me.
While I was tempted to dedicate this month’s Notions & Contemplations to an inventory of my lessons learned since Flag Day 1983, I’m not sure I could improve upon Yung Pueblo’s wisdom here or here (see #3 in particular).
Instead, I’m sharing an origin story–and a commitment for my next four+ decades. As always, thank you for reading and for your companionship on the journey.
Warmest,
Caroline
Notions & Contemplations
Land of the Thunder Dragon
Thirteen years ago, my mom invited my sister, Logan, and me to join her on a spiritual pilgrimage to Bhutan, a tiny Buddhist nation nestled between India and China. At the time, I was a brand-new, 27-year-old political appointee at the State Department more concerned with my external path (hello, Ego!) than any far-flung spiritual one. Within 24 hours of landing in the Himalayas, I began to realize how intricately connected those two paths would be for me.
About half way through the trip, Logan and I embarked on an arduous hike up to a monastery overlooking the capital city of Thimpu. Breathless from exertion and elevation, we entered the shrine and performed the customary Tibetan Buddhist prostration before settling in to meditate.
Beginner’s Luck
Sitting on the floor in front of a giant Buddha, I tapped into something. I didn't mean to; I was pretty new to this, after all. But that's how meditation seems to work: shoshin, the Buddhist concept of the beginner’s mind, is the antidote to hubris, clearing the way for our deepest wisdom to arise.
And so it did for me that day: one intention, one phrase at a time, taking dazzling form against the vast dark space of inner sight. I can still feel them sailing in: words strung together with the urgency of desperate need and the comfort of having known them all along.
I have no sense of how much time passed that afternoon, only that my subconscious was intent on surfacing a mantra that has since become the single most powerful refrain in my life’s journey:
Live Through Love
Without Judgment
Open to Suffering
Offering Compassion
With Balance,
Trust
Hold the Center
In the decade-plus since that special day, I have pondered these seven phrases from every angle, marveling at how they reflect, without conscious intention or design, the universal themes of the world’s great religions and spiritual practices. Not for nothing: I also spent years reciting each phrase as a reminder for my interactions with others…before realizing they were also guideposts for self-care. Go figure.
Practice, Never Perfect
Some days, it is enough to Live through Love for others and for myself; other days, I’m called to remain Open to Suffering, and the perspective it brings. All days, I am humbled by the need to Trust that the path is unfolding in ways I cannot imagine, and reminded of how important–and hard–it is to Hold the Center in an increasingly discordant world.
Today, I am about as close to embodying the phrases of my mantra as I am to taming my Monkey Mind, but thankfully I’m still very young and get to practice every day–which is exactly what I plan to do for my next forty years (and then some).
Do you have a mantra, motto, or refrain that carries you through your days? Please share if you feel comfortable!
On My Kindle + Feed + Calendar
On the occasion of this milestone birthday, I’m sharing some of my old standbys. Think of them as safe harbors when the open ocean is full of whitecaps.
John O’Donohue on “Walking Pastures of Wonder”
I first learned of this 2008 podcast through another hero, Richard Rohr, while taking a course on his book, Breathing Under Water. The voice and perspective of the late John O’Donohue, an Irish poet, philosopher and priest, might be the most calming, grounding, and enlightening resource on the Internet. You’re welcome!
David Whyte & Krista Tippett on “Seeking Language Large Enough”
This OnBeing conversation is so rich with wisdom, I highly recommend getting cozy with a pen, paper, and cup of tea as you partake in its gracious reminders. And speaking of tea, I cannot even look at my kettle without remembering David’s exquisite poem “Everything Is Waiting For You.” Indeed, it is.
Lost Words Blessing
Any day with music is a good day. While I freely admit that I am in a codependent relationship with my Spotify algorithm that spans a number of genres, Lost Words Blessing is easily my most frequently played track. According to the artists, “it is offered both in hope and light, and in grief for the losses and dark times yet to come.” Take a listen and you’ll hear why I return to it again and again. (H/T to my pal Dan Lurie for sharing this bit of gold at a moment when I needed it most.)
P.S. Also, check out the accompanying beautiful books, The Lost Words & The Lost Spells, by acclaimed author Robert Macfarlane and award-winning illustrator Jackie Morris.
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