Hello Dear Friend, Happy Sunday,
I hope the week provided enough conditions to be able to breathe deeply and take refuge from the extreme weather and global conflicts upon us at the moment.
This week I started focusing on the seventh mindfulness training, of the Fourteen Mindful Training I’m taking through Plum Village tradition. The seventh is: Dwelling Happily in the Present Moment
We are aware that life is available only in the present moment. We are committed to training ourselves to live deeply in each moment of daily life. We will try not to lose ourselves in dispersion or be carried away by regrets about the past, worries about the future, or craving, anger, or jealousy in the present. We will practice mindful breathing to be aware of what is happening in the here and the now. We are determined to learn the art of mindful living by touching the wondrous, refreshing, and healing elements that are inside and around us, in all situations. In this way, we will be able to cultivate seeds of joy, peace, love, and understanding in ourselves, thus facilitating the work of transformation and healing into our consciousness. We are aware that true happiness depends primarily on our mental attitude and not on external conditions, and that we can live happily in the present moment, simply by remembering that we already have more than enough conditions to be happy.
This week we could have been sweating happily in the present moment in Toronto, and many other places on the east coast. Climate extremes has become a way of life on our amazing planet. Any way that we are able to retreat from harsh conditions, including physical limitations, emotional, relational, or economic difficulties will help us find coping skills in the present moment. Often, being in the body is an excellent way to find the aid we need. Perhaps walking, briskly or in walking meditation, forest bathing, yoga, swimming or boxing. Perhaps by counting our breath in sitting meditation, or a gentle conversation with another on the path, or listening to a teaching from an elder we respect. Eventually, through conscious awareness, we can go beyond the coping skills and develop tranquility and lightheartedness that steers us to the conditions we need to be present and peaceful.
There has never been a greater time than now to water the seeds of joy in ourselves and the people we meet. There is an expression that use to affect me. “A mother can only be as happy as her unhappiest child.” I would take that on like an 11th commandment. As much as it is natural to suffer when our children suffer, it is equally important to transform this suffering we have taken on, with care and understanding, for both our children and ourselves.
Some of the closest people in my life will say, “when you are happy, I am happy.” I say it too. When you think of those you love expressing peace and happiness, do you feel a sense of heightened joy, or do you hear it as a marker to compare your emotional well being with? The latter seems to have become a contemporary norm amidst survival in the competitive west. It is also one that that has the ability to shrink our very being from a glowing essence to a shell.
We need to take heart, give heart, be heart, willing to see and support one another upon life’s tough journeys. Beyond the deterioration of our beautiful planet from man’s search for more and better, our countries are decimating other countries, other livelihoods and innocent people. We still have enough conditions to make changes, and those changes can begin within. Rest assure that is not a small thing, and its one with remarkable ripple effects. We are determined to learn the art of mindful living by touching the wondrous, refreshing, and healing elements that are inside and around us, in all situations.
In a couple of days I will do a road trip to Nova Scotia to see my children, friends and the remarkable Atlantic ocean where I began this life. This pilgrimage always grounds me, often inspires me, and sometimes humbles me. There I will be deeply present with the seventh training and I’m taking you with me.
I will also travel with what is offered in the online pop-up shop, and ship from the road. To visit the store, click here.
Amidst my components and stones, I found everything needed to make a couple of these wonderful bronze malas. The option is lava and onyx or white turquoise and citrine. These will not be on the website. If you would like one or more info on them, email me here.
I leave you with words of my favourite Irish poet and thinker.
To Come Home To Yourself
May all that is unforgiven in you, be released.
May your fears yield their deepest tranquilities.
May all of that is unlived in you, blossom into a future, graced with love.
John O’Donohue from To Bless The Space Between Us
