Now that I have your attention. Take your fingers off the mouse pad or stop scrolling on your phone. Pause, take a deep belly breath and list three things you are grateful for.
I’ll start:
Try it. The list might surprise and delight you.
Whatever you are doing, take the attitude of wanting it directly or indirectly to benefit others.
— Pema Chödrön
I was chatting to an old grey hair friend the other day and he shared his rule for working with people:
When he meets with new clients, one of his questions is whether or not they have pets. It gives him a good idea about what they are like to work with. His theory is that pet owners are more comfortable with the imperfections of life and mostly roll with it. Animals vomit on that special carpet or scratch that fancy chair. Their hairs get everywhere. Dogs bark at inconvenient times like when the baby is sleeping, and cats don’t come when you call them. Living with animals is a practice of love and patience.
Animals teach us to throw our hands up in the air and say shit happens! We get exasperated and angry but give the dog a cuddle anyway.
Be okay with surrendering control. Life won’t follow your script. Animals are great teachers.
The bad news: See all the trauma out there? Conflicts around the world, suffering, spineless politicians, nasty comments on the web, fake news, propaganda, greed in business or selfishness close to home. The bad news is that all that stuff is a reflection of you. All the trauma ‘out there’ is a reflection of what’s ‘inside you’. Everything. 😕
The good news? Change yourself and you change the world. Every time something out there pisses you off, makes you angry, guilty or sad – that’s the cue to look inward and start the work. It takes discipline to look inward. It’s easier to blame others, retreat or get angry. Practice every day. 😌
Set your own agenda. It creates consistency for others and is habit forming. If you aren’t on your own agenda then you are on someone else’s. Stick to your plan.
You’ll find yourself saying no more than yes…that means it’s working.
Be careful of maybes. A quick no is better than a slow maybe and clears the way for a yes.
Acceptance of our mortality sharpens our focus on being present and enjoying every day. We secretly think we will live forever and bow out when it suits us. That’s the ego telling us we are in control.
We have a limited time in our body. We are all going die. Let that sink in.
Taste the coffee, smell the air, breath deeply and savor every day as it were your last. The acceptance of death increases our day to day joy. What a paradox!
San Francisco beauty in unexpected places. The things we see when we are looking down, and not on our phones.
It’s uncanny how many people imagine a green field when they meditate and still their mind. The field is there waiting for them.
“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and right doing there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about.”
– Rumi
Change the question from ‘what can I get?’ to ‘what can I offer?’ Do it every morning you wake up and try to start every interaction in this frame of mind.
If you are forcing it then it’s not yoga. Listen to your body
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