Our Window of Grasping at “Me” and “Mine” 

According to His Holiness the 17th Gyalwang Karmapa, "When we gaze out through our own window of grasping at “me” and “mine”, we experience everything as if it were being projected onto our personal frame of perception, like a movie projected onto a screen. Just as when we are watching a movie, if we observe a happy moment, our heart soars, and if there is a sad moment, we at once feel low.

This grasping at “me” and “mine” restricts our view of ourselves. It also severely impacts how we connect to others. It prevents us from seeing the numberless wholesome connections that truly link us to others. We end up relating to the world as if it were separate from us, something out there projected on a screen for our consumption. I am not presenting a philosophical view here. I am trying to describe what it feels like to experience the world this way. As we look out through our window, we feel attachment and aversion. We accept or reject what we see projected on the screen. This emotional push and pull forms a major component of how we relate to others."

Life is giving us an opportunity to take full responsibility for our lives and that of our loved ones. But, it is also reminding us that we have the ability to open and accept the responsibility for infinite beings. As our kind teacher, Jigme Khyentse Rinpoche says, "Why limit our deep tenderness to a few people, when we can extend it to all beings?"
These difficult times are entreating us to revisit the way we relate to others. In the end, the only thing that will matter is how well we loved and how well we lived. And the two are truly inseparable.