It probably wasn’t surprising that our travels this week took us along the path of love, although I hope some of the twists and turns we took on the way offered a different perspective. Love exists in many forms, and can be expressed in many ways. Either way, it’s still love, though, whether you’re giving, receiving, or both.
Perfect segue, if I do say so myself.
Your “no-fail” mindfulness challenge this weekend works both ways. You’re going to try something called a “metta” meditation. Sounds weird, but really it’s not. You can find examples of it here and here. The idea is that you start of simply breathing, and focusing your meditation on wishing nice things for someone you love – someone it’s easy to feel the warm fuzzies about. Maybe something like, “May you be happy. May you be peaceful,” and so on…and repeat. Next step is to move on to wishing the same for someone else – maybe some who it’s a little more challenging to send good vibes to. Finally, you take on the challenge of wishing well towards yet another person. This time, it’s you.
Yup, you send the good stuff straight to the source. “May I be happy. May I be peaceful,” and on from there. It probably feels strange at first, but if you can sit with that discomfort and do it anyway, look out. It might surprise you. It feel nice for a second or two. You might even – dare I say – love it.
Photo credit: Tim Savage
