With the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, its stresses compounded (at least in the United States) by relentless political turmoil, there’s been no shortage of prescriptions for preserving one’s psychological well-being. Along with time-honored recommendations like exercise, good nutrition and adequate sleep, mental health professionals frequently have suggested beginning a meditation practice as a means of coping with COVID-induced stress. Anyone looking for a brief, accessible introduction to that practice, especially one geared to our current challenges, will appreciate Kaira Jewel Lingo’s WE WERE MADE FOR THESE TIMES: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption.

Lingo brings a unique set of credentials to her project. For 15 years, she experienced life as a nun under the tutelage of the eminent Zen Buddhist master Thich Nhat Hanh. At age 40, however, she made the difficult decision to leave the monastery, “reinventing my whole identity,” as she felt “something was calling to me that I couldn’t ignore.” Since that time, she has continued her engagement with mindfulness practice as a lay Dharma teacher, writer and activist in the United States and around the world.

"While the road to building equanimity, compassion and resilience must begin with each individual, it most definitely does not end there. Anyone who wants to take the first steps on that journey will find Kaira Jewel Lingo an astute guide and worthy traveling companion."

Each of the chapters of Lingo’s concise book follows an identical structure, first addressing a cornerstone of mindfulness --- like acceptance, caring for strong emotions, or dealing with the reality of impermanence. She introduces some fundamental Buddhist teachings on these subjects, blending them with practical insights and, most usefully, wisdom gained from her own experience of practice.

These lessons are followed by brief guided meditations tailored to the chapter’s theme. (Readers who prefer the meditations with Lingo’s audio guidance can find them on the Insight Timer app in a course entitled “Skillfully Moving Through Challenging Times.”) But as any meditation practitioner knows (I’ve been one for more than six years), the most daunting task is transferring the benefits of sitting on the cushion into the reality of living.

Lingo helpfully bridges that gap with brief sections entitled “In Daily Life,” explaining how to integrate daily practice with one’s personal, family and work life, sometimes referred to as “short moments, many times” in mindfulness practice. In the chapter on impermanence, for example, she encourages readers to pay particular attention to the moments when they finish things --- whether it’s a meal, a conversation or sending an email. To counteract feelings of overwhelm, she recommends mindful walking. As readers will come to understand when they’ve finished the book, these frequent episodes of mindfulness are the bricks used to fashion a durable structure of awareness.

Along with these practices, Lingo promotes the practice of journaling. Each chapter concludes with an exercise, in the form of several journal prompts, intended to reinforce its central message. After discussing caring for strong emotions, she asks readers to consider writing about the ones they most often face, reflect on their habitual response to those emotions, and then express how it felt to approach that emotion with kindliness and friendliness, as described in that chapter’s meditation.

For all her emphasis on personal transformation, Lingo makes it clear that the journey she’s encouraging isn’t only an inward one. “Our personal challenges are not disconnected from the larger challenges and disruptions our world is facing right now,” she writes. “We cannot separate ourselves and be unaffected by the climate emergency, global health threats, growing income inequality, glaring racial wounds, and systemic white supremacy.”

While the road to building equanimity, compassion and resilience must begin with each individual, it most definitely does not end there. Anyone who wants to take the first steps on that journey will find Kaira Jewel Lingo an astute guide and worthy traveling companion.