Zen master Shunryu Suzuki was once asked how to describe Zen Buddhism as briefly as possible, and he replied as it should be and succinctly, “Everything changes. “the fact that after 46 years, this newspaper you’re reading now, the Westlake Picayune, ceases to appear.
I had written periodically for the Austin American-Statesman over the years, but when it became clear that the COVID-19 pandemic would inexorably impose painful changes on everyone in our society and the world, I tried my best just to heal our society. So, in March 2020, I approached a Picayune editor to write a normal column integrating concepts from Zen and psychology to consult other people amid the complexities of our time.
Social science studies show that one of the most productive tactics for uniting disparate or divided teams of other people is to get them to work together on a common, shared goal. At first, I hoped that the COVID-19 pandemic could be just a galvanizing force, uniting us in a network of paintings and a non-unusual purpose. Instead, more than a million of our citizens have died from COVID-19, so far, and we are more divided than at the beginning of the pandemic.
It is with sadness that I write my last column for the Picayune. Our country also seems to be moving from viewing COVID-19 as a pandemic to being endemic. At the time of writing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention COVID Data Tracker, 313 Americans die every day from COVID. I’m a psychologist, not an epidemiologist, so I don’t pretend to have all the answers on how to deal with a pandemic unique in a century.
As a psychologist, I specialize in oncology, chronic and terminal illness, caregiver support, grief and trauma. The vast majority of my patients are immunocompromised. I estimate that about a portion of my patients died because of the pandemic. At the public level, I see how difficult the pandemic has been for my wife, an elementary school teacher, and my children. I can perceive and relate to a desire to “get back to normal” in relation to masking and socialization. It feels like a giant component of our society has already come out of COVID-19. As a psychologist, I worry about my immunocompromised patients who continue to live with the ramifications of conspiracy theories and misinformation a pandemic that is not over. I am also concerned about the mental trauma that will persist in our society much longer than the pandemic.
Many of my colleagues are retiring or changing careers and, in fact, I can sense why. It is simple and noticeable to feel depressed all over the world. I, too, have had my moments of depression and doubt. Is the pandemic coming to an end or will some other terrible variant roar back?How will things like the war in Ukraine, tensions between China and Taiwan, supply chain problems, inflation and global warming, etc. play out?? Sometimes, when stressful occasions happen in our environment, it activates us to have interaction in unskilled behaviors, which we effectively see. As a society, we sit without knowing, and sitting without knowing can be very difficult.
More than one thing can be true at the same time. Each generation believes that its specific moment in history is that of maximum difficulty. World War I and the Spanish flu, the Great Depression, World War II, the Bay of Pigs and the Cuban missile. Crisis; Our history is full of overwhelming moments. However, as a species, we have resisted and, in many ways, we have continued to progress.
It’s easy to worry about the direction of our individual lives and the fate of our country and the world as a whole. When I worry, I check so I don’t forget an old story “Farmer’s Luck. “Once upon a time there was an old farmer who worked hard for many years. One day one of his horses ran away and all the villagers said that the farmer will have to have bad karma. “Maybe,” the farmer thinks. When the horse returned, the villagers said that the farmer will have to have intelligent karma. “Maybe,” the farmer thinks. When his son tried to ride and tame the horse, he was fired and injured. All the villagers said that the farmer will have to have bad karma. Maybe, the farmer’s idea again. A few days later, the army arrived here to recruit the farmer’s son into the army to fight in a war, but as the son was wounded, he was excused from military service. All the villagers said that the farmer will have to have intelligent karma. Maybe, the farmer’s idea again.
Many other people make predictions about how things will develop in our world. The number of variables that have effects on us and our world is incalculable. As a species, we sit unknowing, which is true. It might seem sharper right now, and the task of man has been to sit unknowingly as we seek to live with purpose, transforming suffering and cultivating joy. Whether things get bigger or worse, that’s our way, to do what we can even without knowing the outcome.
I’m not happy about Westlake Picayune coming out. It’s been a component of my life. I hope this has also been a healing thing in your life. I recently won a grant from Fielding Graduate University’s Institute for Social Innovation to write an e-book exploring the intersections between the ancient origins of Zen and mindfulness with fresh psychology. I am grateful that my trail of writing continues.
Everything changes, and we do our best to get back on our way back and forth. This is the human form. To remain true to our trail, we will have to take care of ourselves. We all want help sometime. Local journalism matters. As this mythical local newspaper ceases to appear, let us recommit ourselves to transforming the suffering of the world, making it softer and more peaceful. And thank you for reading my column over the years.
Dr. David Zuniga is a clinical psychologist in personal practice in Austin, and is also a vice bishop in one of the oldest lineages of Korean Zen. It is a flexible and interdisciplinary source of support: drdavidzuniga. com.