Staying in an Unsteady World
A Meditation by Rev. Cameron Trimble
“We think that the point is to pass the test or to overcome the problem, but the truth is that things don’t really get solved. They come together and they fall apart.” — Pema Chödrön
Something has shifted. You can feel it without needing to read another headline. The war with Iran is not just a distant geopolitical event. It is already moving through the systems that shape our lives—fuel prices rising, markets reacting, supply chains tightening. But more than that, it is working its way into our bodies.
There is a low-grade anxiety many of us are carrying now, a sense that things are becoming less predictable, less stable, more fragile than we were led to believe.
If we’re honest, this moment is not entirely new. It is an intensification of something we have been living with for some time now, a world that no longer holds steady in the way it once seemed to.
When the ground begins to shift, most of us reach for the same strategies. We try to get ahead of it. We gather more information, track every development, hoping that if we can just understand what’s happening, we might regain some sense of control. Or we pull back. We disconnect, numb out, turn our attention elsewhere because it’s too much to hold. Or we let our minds run into the future, imagining outcomes we cannot control and don’t know how to survive.
None of this is failure. This is what it feels like to be human in an unstable time.
But Buddhist teacher, Pema Chödrön, offers a different way. She reminds us that things do not resolve in the way we want them to. They come together, and they fall apart.1 Again and again.
If that is true—and it is—then the question begins to shift.
Not: How do we fix this?
Not: When will things feel stable again?
But: Can I stay?
Can I stay present in a moment that is uncertain? Can I feel what I am feeling without collapsing in despair? Can I resist the pull to harden, to withdraw, to become less human in response to fear? This is not passive. Staying is a form of courage.
When we stay, we begin to notice that even now, life continues. People are still caring for one another. Neighbors are still showing up. Communities are still finding ways to hold each other through uncertainty. And within you, there is still a place that knows how to breathe.
The work is not to feel calm all the time. It is to remain available: available to this moment, available to the people in front of you, available to the small, necessary acts of care that are always within reach.
This is how we live when the world is unstable, not by waiting for certainty to return, but by practicing presence in the midst of its absence.
We come from people who have lived through uncertain times before. They did not solve the world’s instability. But they learned how to live within it, how to love without guarantees, how to act without knowing outcomes, how to remain open when it would have been easier to close.
This is our work now. Not to predict what will happen next. Not to control what cannot be controlled. But to stay.
To stay with ourselves.
To stay with each other.
To stay rooted in something deeper than the conditions around us.
We are in this together,
Cameron
Reflection Questions
Where do you notice instability showing up most in your life right now—externally or internally?
What is your instinctive response when things feel uncertain: control, withdrawal, or projection into the future?
What would it look like, in a very practical way, for you to “stay” today?
A Prayer for the Day
A Prayer for an Unsteady World
God of presence, In a world that feels unstable, steady something deep within us. When fear rises, keep us from hardening. When uncertainty grows, keep us from withdrawing. When we are tempted to grasp for control, teach us how to remain. Give us the courage to stay present to this moment, to one another, and to the quiet work of care that still holds the world together. Let us become people who do not look away, but who remain—open, grounded, and alive— even when the ground beneath us shifts. Amen.
Spiritual Practice
The Practice of Staying
Today, practice staying on purpose. At some point in your day, pause for five minutes. Sit still. Put your feet on the ground and your hand on your chest.
Notice your breath.
Then gently name what is present:
“I feel anxious.”
“I feel uncertain.”
“I feel overwhelmed.”
Let the feeling be there without trying to fix it.
After a minute or two, widen your awareness. Notice one thing you can see. One thing you can hear. One thing you can touch. Let your body remember: you are here.
Finally, choose one small act of presence.
Send a message to someone you care about.
Step outside and feel the air.
Offer your full attention to the next conversation you have.
You do not need to solve the instability of the world. You only need to stay present within it. That is where your life is still unfolding.
Upcoming Events That Might Be of Interest…
My team and I launched a new experiment we are calling “The Commons.” It’s an online space centered around communities of practice: groups of people who share a common concern, set of problems, or passion for a topic, and deepen their knowledge and expertise by interacting on an ongoing basis. Join the community here.
March 23, 31 and April 7, 2026, 7-8:30pm ET - Rev. Dr. Matthew Fox and I will be hosting another 4-part series on “Visions for the Common Good.” This series will include sessions with David Abram (cultural ecologist), Lynne Twist (global activist), Randy Woodley (Cherokee scholar and wisdom-keeper), and yours truly! All sessions are recorded, and you will get the link if you can’t make it. Learn more here.
March 26, 2026, 7–8:30pm ET – FREE WEBINAR - I’ll be joined by Ruth Dearnley, OBE, Founder and President of Stop the Traffik (London), for “Stop the Exploitation of Children: Disrupting Human Trafficking at Its Source.” As Board Chair of Stop the Traffik USA, this work is deeply personal to me. We cannot rescue our way out of trafficking; we must prevent exploitation by disrupting the systems and financial flows that profit from vulnerability—and congregations can play a powerful role in building community resilience. Ruth will share how technology and data are exposing trafficking networks globally, and how congregations can lead local awareness and prevention campaigns that reduce vulnerability and protect children. I hope you’ll join us. Learn more and register here.
March 28, 2026 - No Kings Protest! We are marching again. Mark your calendars and find the nearest protest site. Make your protest signs. Knit your red hats. Get your water bottles and sunscreen ready. We head back into the streets for peaceful protest on behalf of a more just world. I'll see you out there. Register here.
I drafted a Strategic Framework for Congregations as we move into the coming years of increased authoritarianism around the world. If interested, you can download it here.
Fun Things My Friends Are Up To…
I get to work with such amazing, creative people. This section is my way of celebrating them—no paid promotions, just joy in what they’re creating.
Each spring, Jewish clergy, musicians, and community leaders gather at Hava Nashira, a long-running conference devoted to the sacred practice of communal singing in Jewish life. Participants learn how music, chant, and shared prayer can deepen spiritual life and strengthen community by helping whole communities lift their voices together. I love that this exists in the world, and that my friend, Cantor Rosalie Will, helps lead it. If your path is in the Jewish tradition, check it out.
The Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Peace filed a shareholder resolution with Palantir asking the company to publish a human rights impact assessment. Palantir is the AI software behind ICE, predictive policing, algorithm-determined drone killings, merging of private health data, and more. The sisters released a video explaining why they filed the proposal. They are now reaching out to Faith Leaders and asking them to sign the petition in support. The signatures need to be collected by/before March 23.
I have just discovered the coolest group! The All We Can Save Project grew out of the powerful climate anthology All We Can Save and has become a growing network of people committed to climate courage and community leadership. Their work reminds us that responding to the climate crisis isn’t only about policy or technology; it’s also about cultivating the relationships, imagination, and moral courage needed to protect and restore the living world. Check them out here: https://www.allwecansave.earth/
If you are a leader or member of a congregation looking for consulting support in visioning, planning, hiring or staffing, please consider Convergence.
Pema Chödrön, When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times (Shambhala, 1997).
Yes, AND there is a danger in asking people to just “stay” with the challenging feelings because some may feel they are being asked to ENDURE the intolerable, the illegal, the immoral (and if they can’t, they feel worse about themselves) rather than to also actively address these things.
Today’s treasure: “The work is not to feel calm all the time. It is to remain available: available to this moment, available to the people in front of you, available to the small, necessary acts of care that are always within reach.” I can think of no better way to honor this first day of spring. Thank you. 💐