January 3 – How did the rose ever open its heart?
Dear Friends, There’s a beautiful poem attributed to Hafiz: It Felt Love HowDid the roseEver open its heart And give to this worldAll itsBeauty? It felt the encouragement of lightAgainst itsBeing. Otherwise,We all remain Too Frightened. Hafiz and Daniel Ladinsky. The Gift. New York, Penguin / Arkana, 1999. (If you want this as an earworm, you can listen to Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer sing this poem here: https://vib.by/v/XyLafQQdc – although she says this is Rumi not Hafiz.) The importance of kindness in our practice cannot be understated. How can we open ourselves to our own inner goodness and see what is wise, unless we can be with what is here now? We too need to feel the encouragement of light against our being. That’s the role of kindness in our practice. Today, I invite you to intentionally bring kindness into your practice. Perhaps you may want to follow along with this…
December 31 – Welcome!
Dear Friends, The practices of mindfulness and meditation have been such incredible supports for me in the challenges of life, including 2020! That is what has motivated me to study and practice and share with others. This is the sixth year I have offered this daily email in January, and I’m honoured that you have chosen to join me in this iteration. This year, I am going to be gathering and sharing resources and practices that will be useful when I have an opportunity to teach to a six-week introductory training in mindfulness course later this spring. It is my hope that you will find this useful in establishing and strengthening your own practice, and that together, we will plant seeds of kindness and wisdom in ourselves and in the world. Here’s a poem to invite us into this month together: Invitation to Brave Space ListenTogether we will create brave…