May you be happy …
I’ve been contemplating for over a week on the topic of this newsletter. In the end, I decided to keep it simple, in the spirit of the season and the darkness and cold that envelop us.
We’ve just passed the winter solstice, the longest night of the year and the return of the light. The days are still short but will soon be gradually getting longer.
Winter is a time to slow down, to focus on staying warm and cozy, and to gently embrace the dark as a mantle of quiet.
You are good, you are enough
I have recently come across the book You Are Good, You Are Enough: Free Yourself from the Trap of Doubt and Return to Basic Goodness by Lodro Rinzler. Reading it feels like breathing out a deep sigh.
The message in the book initiates a softening in me and a letting go of the inner pressure I place on myself. It helps me quiet the voice of my inner critic and release tension in my mind, increasing my capacity to be more present in the moment.
The book has also inspired me to revisit the Buddhist prayer of loving-kindness.
Loving-kindness prayer
Sometimes words have the power to shift energy quite dramatically, and with that, our whole physiology. This prayer does this for me — it didn’t used to in the past. These days, I read it and feel its quiet power for healing and tenderness.
If you don’t resonate with it right now, perhaps you might feel inspired to find a poem, a quote, or a prayer that helps you shift into a more spacious, loving, and tender place.
Create a moment of quiet for yourself and gently read or recite your prayer, allowing yourself to feel its meaning.
Below is my preferred shortened version of the Buddhist Metta prayer of loving-kindness (replace I with you, he, she, they as needed):
May I be happy and peaceful.
May I be free from worry and fear.
May I be grateful and generous.
May my mind be filled with loving-kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
May my behaviour be a source of happiness and peace for other beings.
Wishing you a gentle journey through the rest of winter, with moments of warmth, quiet, and ease where you can find them.
And please don’t forget — there is always a calm space and warm massage table ready to receive you here at Kind Living, and my hands to help release tension and weariness.
With warmth,
Kā mihi,
Uschi