very so often, the Zen monastery where I trained would send out emails to the Sangha to share the monastery’s financial situation with them. Usually, a report to say that expenses have gone up but not donations. And this would produce a flurry of income to keep the monastery’s doors open. For now.

Since the beginning, my teacher was adamant that either people would experience the value of the work and give to keep it alive or they wouldn’t. She wasn’t going to sell the teachings. So it would be up to all of us to do our part. And it cost money to do that. She was happy for it to go either way though. I loved her attitude of “it’ll work, or it was a grand experiment that failed.”

Since I’ve been out of the monastery, I was involved in hosting personal development events both large and small. I’ve seen the amount of work that goes into planning them, marketing them, executing them and then following up with them.

I co-hosted one event a couple of times with my partner and colleague. The first time we offered it, the weekend was a huge success and incredibly rewarding. People flew in from all over the world to participate, and we received numerous “thank yous” for making it possible for them to attend. Stories came out months later that the weekend was a turning point for several of the attendee’s careers and personal lives.

The second time around, we noticed people’s attitude about registering was ambivalent. We heard, “I’ll register next year.” “Funds are low now,” or “I have other plans,” or “I’ve done too many personal development events this year already.” “Next year…”

Until we decided that there wasn’t going to be a “next year.”

And I’ve been on the phone with clients who were disappointed to learn that this extraordinary event wasn’t going to happen again. But all I could say was, “apparently there was no interest so we couldn’t put in all that time, money, effort and energy into something that no one wanted.”

In the same manner, businesses close down, and charities go away. If you want to open your eyes globally, you can see that we’re destroying the environment and animals are becoming extinct. People are being discriminated against, and mental health is eroding. Pick anything meaningful to you, and you’ll see this process at work.

What isn’t valued is going away and what is valued is taking its place. Look around you right now. From your own home to the whole world. What are you putting there?

Either you choose compassion, or you choose suffering. Humanity either works, or it’s a grand experiment that failed.

It’s really up to you. The responsibility is yours.

But there’s no need to experience overwhelm about it. No need for the voices to use this as one more thing to feel bad about.

Pick something. Anything. No matter how small. Support it. Give it your love and attention. A flower will bloom more beautifully with your care. A child will open up with your listening. A grandparent will do better with your hand.

Say “thank you” to that which supports you. Support what supports you in whatever way you can.

Allow love to continue.