Description

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In ten concise chapters, you'll learn powerful ways to meet life's challenges with wisdom, resilience, and ease.

We all go through times when it feels like the ground is being pulled out from under us. What we relied on as steady and solid may change or even appear to vanish. In this era of global disruption, threats to our individual, social, and planetary safety abound, and at times life can feel overwhelming. Not only are loss and separation painful, but even positive changes can cause great stress. 

Yet life is full of change: birth, death, marriage, divorce; a new relationship; losing or starting a job; beginning a new phase in life or ending one. Change is stressful, even when it is much desired or anticipated—the unknown can feel scary and threatening. In We Were Made for These Times, the extraordinary mindfulness teacher Kaira Jewel Lingo imparts accessible advice on navigating difficult times of transition, drawing on Buddhist teachings on impermanence to help you establish equanimity and resilience. 
 
Each chapter in We Were Made for These Times holds an essential teaching and meditation, unfolding a step-by-step process to nurture deeper freedom and stability in daily life. Time-honored teachings will help you develop ease, presence, and self-compassion, supporting you to release the fear and doubt that hold you back. 

About the Author

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Kaira Jewel Lingo is a much-loved Dharma teacher who has been practicing mindfulness since 1997. She lived as an ordained nun for 15 years, during which time she trained closely with her teacher, Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. Speaking five languages, she shares Buddhist meditation, secular mindfulness​,​ and compassion ​practice ​internationally, providing spiritual mentoring to individuals and communities working at the intersection of racial, climate, and social justice. ​Her teaching focuses on activists, educators, artists, ​youth and ​families, and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), and includes the interweaving of art, play, nature, ecology, and embodied mindfulness practice. Kaira Jewel teaches in the Plum Village Zen tradition ​​and in the Vipassana tradition. She lives in New York.

Praise For…

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“Times of darkness hold the power and potential for deep transformation. Kaira Jewel Lingo is a wise and inspiring guide in navigating the challenges of our times with courage, equanimity, and compassion. She shares timeless teachings and practices that reveal our belonging and free our hearts.”—Tara Brach, author of Trusting the Gold

“A treasure trove of loving and practical meditation advice about how we can navigate through difficult times and challenging transitions with our heart and mind intact.… This book is uniquely tailored to our times, right up to this present moment. A gem of a work!”—Jan Willis, author of Dreaming Me

“A most beautiful weaving of the many Wisdom threads in Buddhist practice to create a sacred mantle of Freedom for us all.”—Larry Yang, author of Awakening Together

“Kaira Jewel Lingo is one of the most authentic Dharma teachers of our generation. Her decades of committed and genuine practice have yielded a book that speaks to what so many of us are longing for—a path of guidance through some of the most difficult experiences of our lives.”—Lama Rod Owens, author of Love and Rage
 
“I love this book! Simple yet profound, heartfelt and insightful, far-reaching and practical. Kaira Jewel Lingo draws on her years as a nun with Thich Nhat Hanh to offer the ideas, tools, and experiential practices we need to weather topsy-turvy times.”—Rick Hanson, PhD, author of Neurodharma
 
“From a jewel of a teacher, a simple and clear way to access your own heart and wisdom. Anyone seeking answers will find relief in the pages of this book.”—Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, author of The Deepest Peace
 
“A brilliant map for the real and deep journey of these times. This is medicine we need right now.”—Larry Ward, PhD, author of America’s Racial Karma
 
“We Were Made for These Times reads like a poem. Kaira Jewel Lingo offers inspiring and accessible guidance for experiencing the nearness of freedom despite our circumstances. A timely and timeless read for all.”—Ruth King, author of Mindful of Race

“In a minimum of words and with a maximum of insight and plenty of useful practices, the author gifts us with wisdom from her and Thich Nhat Hanh's rich lineage. This hopeful book brings light to our times so darkened by the shadows of ecocide, racism, patriarchy, illusion, and despair. Kaira Jewel Lingo’s story alone offers great hope, for it demonstrates how a new generation is rising.”—Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing
 
“In this intimate, courageous account of her own journey, Kaira Jewel Lingo offers all of us an inspiring example of how these ancient teachings can be a guide, an inspiration, and a resource in trying times. Whether the challenges we face are on the personal or collective level, this little book offers powerful, clear and concise wisdom for modern times.”—Oren Jay Sofer, author of Say What You Mean

"One of the most experienced Zen teachers resident in the United States … discerning and nurturing growth is Kaira Jewel’s gift. We recommend her book for people of any religious background, or none."—Spirituality and Health