What do you do when your wisdom eludes you? When you feel overcome with emotion or ill equipped to handle life as it is? According to Buddhist teacher and author, Thich Nhat Hanh, our safest course of action is "indirect embracing."
 
Most of us have a difficult time embracing all of our emotions, especially the volatile ones. It is a genuine spiritual practice to embrace anger, greed, jealousy, and the like. But we can, with the help of our breath and an attitude of loving-kindness.
 
Thich Nhat Hanh suggests that you recognize the emotion by simply saying hello to it, offering it a slight smile, just like you would someone you're not fond of, but don't want to be impolite to. Allow this hello and an inner smile help you rest into your breath with gentleness. Relief can be yours.

©2023, Janice L. Lundy

The older we get the more we may realize that not much in life matters if we don't have love. Love of family and friends. Love of work and creative expression. Love of the Earth and her bounty. Love of growth and the opportunity to be all that we can be. But in order to receive this love, we must have an open heart. We must be able to fully give love, too.
 
Today let us re-dedicate ourselves to living with wide-open hearts as best we can; to not shut down or close off to others; to not judge or discriminate or neglect. Let us extend ourselves to others as best we can. Let us live with unconditional friendliness toward all beings, both animal and human. Let us we be kind.
 
This is a life worth living, one rooted in love.

©2023, Janice L. Lundy
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