Loving Kindness

Early morning is like no other time of the day for me. It is totally my time. There are no interruptions nor distractions. I am free to meditate, read something inspirational and reflect on the day ahead.

When I start my day mindfully in peace and quiet, I am better prepared to face whatever is on my agenda.  However, I must confess, that this just does not always happen.

Sometimes, I find myself jumping out of bed and rushing into the next 24 hours. I start my day in a flurry of action, "doing" without any thought. The result is not great!

I came across the following story taken from a book by Pema Chodron entitled, Awakening Loving Kindness. After I read the passage, I began to thing about just how I am living each day. I began questioning whether the individual events that keep me busy all day, add up to living in a “good way”.

“The Navajo teach their children that every morning when the sun comes up, it’s a brand new sun. It’s born each morning, it lives for the duration of one day, and in the evening it passes on, never to return again.

As soon as children are old enough to understand, they are taken out at dawn and told, ‘The sun has only one day. You must live this day in a good way so the sun won’t have wasted precious time.’”

I do not like the fact that I constantly need to re-assess my life. I wish I could find all the correct answers now, follow them and just forget about any more questions. Life doesn’t seem to happen that way.

So here I go, peeling back, yet another layer, and asking myself to look further and deeper. I ask myself, “What is it I want to have accomplished, by days end, that adds to the meaning and purpose of my life? “What could I do to prevent myself from getting caught up in ‘stuff’”?

I have come back full circle to the realization that, I need to greet the sunrise each morning, no exceptions! I know that if I begin my day thoughtfully, I will be better able to slow down, observe and think before I act. I will be living in a “good way.”

Ruth Ann Schabaker’s says it well, “Each day comes bearing its own gifts. Untie the ribbons.”

“What do you need to do today so that at the end of your day, you will be able to say that it was lived in a “good way’”?

I have included this video in case you want to take the time to answer this question. I, personally, prefer to close my eyes and listen only to the music without the visuals.

I wish you a “good” day!

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