In the aftermath of the 2016 U.S. election, Sharon Salzberg offers a meditation practice rooted in the recognition of common humanity. The core teaching is simple but profound: despite political disagreement, people share fundamental desires for happiness, vulnerability to life's uncertainty, and an interdependent existence. Through compassion meditation—first toward oneself, then toward those we care about, those who are struggling, and even those with whom we disagree—we can begin to heal the rupture and sense of isolation that political division creates. The practice is not about abandoning principles or agreeing with everyone, but about remembering that we are fundamentally connected and must learn to begin again together.
Why We Need Compassion Right Now
Salzberg opens by naming the real psychological toll of the election season. Many people report tremendous anxiety, an addiction to outrage, and the painful experience of rifts with friends and family over political differences. Rather than dismiss these feelings, she acknowledges them as legitimate while proposing that meditation offers a path forward that does not require denial or agreement. The post-election moment, she says, is a critical time to seek peace—not a superficial peace, but one that comes from reconnecting with inner resources and remembering what binds us together.
"The more we separate and disconnect from one another the worse off we all are," she explains. The path forward requires finding a way to wish well for one another even when we continue to disagree, even when some feel disappointed and others feel exultant. This is not sentimentality; it is pragmatism born from recognizing our interdependence.
What Do We All Share in Common?
At the heart of Salzberg's teaching is the identification of shared human ground beneath political difference. She identifies three things that unite us across all dividing lines:
- A shared yearning for happiness: Not merely pleasure or satisfaction, but a deep desire for belonging, for feeling at home in our bodies, minds, and in relationship with others. Salzberg notes that most people have been conditioned by myths and misconceptions about what happiness actually is, and that ignorance often rules the day. But the yearning itself is universal.
- Shared vulnerability: Life is uncertain and fragile. Anyone's life can change on a dime. While not everyone experiences the same measure of pain or suffering, the fundamental vulnerability to loss, change, and uncertainty is universal. This "enormous poignancy" is something we all recognize in one another if we pause to see it.
- Interdependence: We do not stand alone. We live in an interdependent universe where our choices and well-being affect others and theirs affect us. This is not metaphorical or sentimental—it is simply how things are. As Salzberg puts it, "we're going to sink or swim together."
These shared recognitions form the foundation for compassion work. When we see another person, no matter how much we might disagree with them politically, we can acknowledge that they too want to be happy, they too are vulnerable to life's fragility, and their well-being is connected to ours.
How Do We Begin Again?
A key teaching Salzberg emphasizes is the need for resilience and renewal. In any program of healing, she says, we must be able to "begin again." This is not about forgetting what happened or abandoning principles. It is about learning from the past without being trapped by it, about going deeper into the causes and conditions of rupture, and about cultivating the capacity to grow and be reborn even in hard times.
"Like in nature we can work to grow again to be reborn to to start over to have that kind of resilient field," she says. This is not optimism divorced from reality; it is a grounded recognition that we have the capacity to heal and move forward if we commit to it together.
The Structure of Compassion Meditation
Salzberg then leads the listener through a compassion meditation practice. The structure moves through several phases, each deepening the capacity for compassion:
First: Offering compassion to yourself
The practice begins with self-compassion. After settling into the body and finding a sense of grounding, the practitioner chooses three or four phrases of care and nurturing—such as "May I be safe, be happy, be peaceful." These phrases are offered to oneself with wholehearted presence, not as a struggle or attempt to manufacture a feeling, but as a gift of attention. When the mind wanders (which it will), the instruction is to "gently let go" and begin again. This moment of letting go and beginning again, Salzberg notes, is itself a life skill—the resilience we will bring into our day.
Second: Extending compassion to someone who helped you
Next, the practitioner brings to mind someone they care about—someone who has directly helped them or inspired them from afar. Keeping an image and sense of their presence, the practitioner offers the same phrases to them. This is not about liking or approving of them necessarily, but about recognizing our lives have something to do with one another and that they too share the same vulnerability and longing for happiness.
Third: Compassion for those who are struggling
The practice then expands to include someone who is struggling with a difficult issue in life—not necessarily election-related, but anyone who feels alone or cut off. By offering compassion to them, the practitioner extends the field of the heart to include suffering that may not be their own.
Fourth: Compassion for those with whom you disagree
Finally, and most difficult, the practitioner is invited to bring to mind someone who is struggling specifically over the election results—someone with a different point of view about what was desirable. By offering compassionate acknowledgement to them, recognizing the connection of our lives and our shared vulnerability, the practitioner moves from a stance of exclusion to inclusion.
Salzberg is explicit: "This doesn't mean you give up a sense of right and wrong or sense of your own principles or rejoicing if things went the way you were hoping but it's very much a sense of inclusion rather than exclusion."
What Compassion Meditation Actually Does
The power of this practice, Salzberg explains, is that it reminds us of our common humanity. It dissolves the sense of isolation we feel when facing adversity or challenge—a sense that is, she says, "really a construct." In reality, we are part of one community. The meditation is not about denying real differences or pretending we all think alike. It is about accessing a deeper level of recognition beneath disagreement.
When strong feelings arise during the practice—whether it is difficulty in extending compassion to someone with opposing views, or struggling to feel compassion for oneself—the instruction is simply to keep paying attention to your own experience and continue. There is no need to struggle or force a feeling. The power lies in the wholehearted presence behind the phrases, not in the perfection of the words themselves.
The Practical Outcome
Salzberg acknowledges that in the days after an election, people may find themselves triggered or flooded by emotion. The practice—whether done formally during meditation or woven quietly into daily life—can help "down regulate" the nervous system and return to a normalized pace and rhythm. It is a way of caring for ourselves and treasuring ourselves so that we have the resources to go forward.
The larger vision is one of collective healing. By practicing compassion meditation, we are not solving political problems or changing someone's mind. We are cultivating the inner capacity to remain connected even across difference, to remember our common humanity in moments of conflict, and to build the resilience needed to heal rupture and move forward together.
Where to go from here
If you are drawn to this practice, Salzberg's teaching suggests starting with self-compassion. Find three or four phrases that resonate with you and practice offering them to yourself daily, even for just a few minutes. Notice what happens when your mind wanders and you return to the practice—that moment of beginning again is the practice itself. Once self-compassion feels more natural, gradually expand the circle to include others: those you love, those who are struggling, and eventually those with whom you disagree. The goal is not to achieve a particular feeling but to practice wholehearted presence with the intention to recognize and honor the humanity in all beings. In times of division, this may be one of the most important things we can do.
