Last week, I wrote about how it can be difficult to feel any sort of gratitude this time of year, particularly when we're bombarded with messages that we should. When we're in the depths of grief or harboring hostility or just plain burnt out, gratitude can be hard to come by.
So instead, let's flip the lens.
Let's focus instead on how to find peace and extend it towards others - even those we don't want to. This is not an original meditation guide but it's one that helped me in darker times and hopefully can help others.
Meditation can be a little tricky for many people. Should we close our eyes? Should we be in a room by ourselves? How much time do we need? Understanding that finding a quiet place alone for 15 minutes might be impossible this time of year, instead consider this a moving meditation. Repeat these words out loud or just to yourself several times throughout the day "May I be happy, may I be healthy, may I be safe, may I live with ease."
That's it. Simple, right? Those are actually pretty huge wishes but ones that we all deserve. They're the most basic of requests, but they're what have the biggest impact on our lives.
Repeat the phrases until you internalize it. It might take some time. But you deserve every single one of these.
The next part is still fairly easy. Pick someone you're fond of - it could be a partner, a child, a dear friend. And, with that person in mind, repeat "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, may you live with ease." When we direct it towards someone we care about, we realize the impact of the words because we would never want otherwise for them.
This is where it gets harder. Pick someone you're angry with, or someone who you constantly are at odds with. The very thought of that person might cause you to want to stop the exercise. But, with that person in mind, repeat "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be safe, may you live with ease." You might feel like a hypocrite at first, but repeat the words until empathy bubbles up - it usually does. Because, when we think about it, what's the alternative? How would we feel if we wished otherwise... and it happened?
And finally, balance this all out. Repeat "May we all be happy, may we all be healthy, may we all be safe, may we all live with ease." Framed that way, we realize its an almost impossible ask... but why ask for anything less?
Thank you, again, for reading this year. Your trust and support means the world to me.
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