“You can never change the past nor control the future, but you can change the mood of the day by touching someone’s heart with your smile.”
~ Unknown
It was hard to keep from smiling as the big bold yellow sun rose this morning, and why would I not smile 🙂
I envisioned even putting a smiley face on the photo, but I figure you’d catch my drift ….
I’ve mentioned it before. Some days happiness comes naturally, and some days it takes a bit of effort. Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design into the present.
Take yesterday for example. Issues at the villa, followed by a day full of not-so-fun monthly accounting could really have gotten me down. But it didn’t. I went about my work, stopped to get some fresh air, pet the cats, listened to some music, and at the end of the day, I felt productive, if not beaming from ear to ear.
In my last post, I shared my metta practice: That of extending lovingkindness, especially when one isn’t necessarily feeling very loving nor kind. I was amazed when I saw that others were writing in the same vein too yesterday. I wasn’t very specific about this ancient practice, so today I wanted to share some of the specifics about practicing metta …
Bhante Gunaratanain his book on Mindfulness writes “At first, loving-friendliness may seem fake, as if you are only going through the motions. But by associating with thoughts of metta over and over, it becomes a habit. Just as we walk or run or swim to strengthen our bodies, metta practice strengthens our hearts.”
We start metta practice by cultivating love towards ourselves. Buddha said “By surveying the entire world with my mind, I have not come across anyone who loves others more than himself. Therefore one who loves himself should cultivate this same loving friendliness towards others.”
Cultivate loving friendliness toward yourself first, with the intention of sharing your kind thoughts with others.
We develop this feeling by …
Being full of kindness toward yourself.
Accepting yourself just as you are.
Making peace with your shortcomings.
Embracing even your weaknesses.
Being gentle and forgiving with yourself in this moment.
If thoughts arise as to how you should be, let them go.
Establishing fully the depth of these feelings.
Letting the power of metta saturate your entire body and mind.
Then relaxing in its warmth and radiance.
Expand this feeling out now … to your loved ones, to people you don’t know, to people you feel neutrally about, and even then to your adversaries.
So each morning, my yoga or meditation starts with this simple mantra – which comes in many forms – either laying on my back or seated, eyes closed:
May I be happy. May I be well. May I be peaceful.
May no harm come to me.
May no difficulties or problems come to me.
May I always meet with success.
May I have the patience, courage and understanding
to meet and overcome
the inevitable troubles that life brings.
May I be free from greed, anger, hatred, jealousy and fear.
I will repeat this, until it feels true in my heart. Then I usually extend only the first sentence out to my teachers, my family, my close friends, and to anyone who presented a difficulty that comes to mind.
While not raised in a religious family, I was brought up to repeat a prayer each evening as a child … Now I lay me down to sleep. Metta practice is similar, one which has literally changed my life. If I feel my blood pressure starting to rise, the mantra is right there for me.
A bad attitude is like a flat tire, you can’t get very far until you change it.
I hope you’ll join me in spreading happiness and metta with all who cross your path today. Happy hump day ♥
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For more, I can highly recommend the book
‘Mindfulness in Plain English’
by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
