On the heels of Halloween and its scary hilarity came the United States presidential election. The outcome of that election presents an opportunity to revisit the past while forging a way forward. 

As with every election, there will inevitably be a sense of victory for some, and a sense of loss for others. Whatever the outcome of this election had been, a significant percentage of our nation’s population who had favored the losing candidate may now be experiencing suffering in the form of grief, anger, fear and other negative emotions. 

When we encounter suffering, whether in a single person, an entire nation or the world at large, what can we do? In her beloved book, “When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times,” American Buddhist nun and bestselling author, Pema Chodron writes of a helpful practice known as tonglen. 

“Tonglen is a practice of creating space, ventilating the atmosphere of our lives so that people can breathe freely and relax. Whenever we encounter suffering in any form, the tonglen instruction is to breathe it in with the wish that everyone could be free of pain. Whenever we encounter happiness in any form, the instruction is to breathe it out, send it out, with the wish that everyone could feel joy,” writes Chodron.

Tonglen can be practiced on the spot when we encounter suffering in our everyday lives, or broadened from the starting point of our own pain. 

“At that point we can change the focus and begin to do tonglen for what we are feeling and for millions of other people just like us who at that very moment are feeling exactly the same stuck-ness and misery. Maybe we are able to name our pain. We recognize it clearly as terror or revulsion or anger or wanting to get revenge. So we breathe in for all the people who are caught with that same emotion, and we send out relief or whatever opens up the space for ourselves and all those countless others. Maybe we can’t name what we’re feeling. But we can feel it—a tightness in the stomach, a heavy darkness, or whatever. We simply contact what we are feeling and breathe in, take it in, for all of us—and send out relief to all of us,” writes Chodron.

Practicing tonglen can be an empowering tool for moving forward in the coming days. On the horizon is Thanksgiving, the sometimes neglected holiday that transpires in the blurry haze of life racing by as we hurtle onward to Christmas. Let’s make some time to walk or simply rest in the healing balm of the natural world while practicing tonglen. Go forth with a sense of gratitude as the path unfolds before us.