Shundo David Haye – Zen Priest

‘One of the first things we discover as we engage in deep inquiry about
equanimity is that the mind is often not very equanimous. Indeed, emotional
upset can be the rule rather than the exception in human life. Emotions,
feelings, and mood are the internal weather of the mind: capricious and
subject to as many changes and variations as meteorological conditions.

Though emotional weather is fundamentally beyond our control, we do have at least some choice in how we relate to those experiences, and in so doing we can cultivate equanimity.

Bringing attention to equanimity has the immediate effect of highlighting areas of emotional challenge. As a general principle, this seems analogous to what happens when engaging in mindfulness meditation. Hindrances to meditation arise, and it is the very awareness of those obstacles that helps us learn to discern states of relaxation and calm.’ (Inquiring Deeply Into Emotional Equanimity)