Last night, before bed, I decided to do a 10-minute guided meditation. This particular meditation was about peace. What I was guided to repeat over and over again was thought-provoking from two different perspective. The mantra I was asked to repeat was this: “Your happiness and suffering are a result of your thoughts and actions; my wishing will not make it so.” I was asked to repeat this while visualizing someone I had specifically chosen to be seated in front of me. Deep, right?

At first, I didn’t understand the directions, so I believe I choose the wrong person because I chose someone with whom I don’t really have a very good relationship. But in hindsight, I don’t believe there is a wrong person. The best person, if there is a “best” person, might be someone I was worried about. That mantra can then remind us that happiness and suffering are an inside job. But the flip side of this mantra is for us. Our happiness and suffering are also a result of our thoughts and actions, so no one else can make it so.

Peace, therefore, comes from the space within us that will simply love our family, our friends, and our enemies without trying to fix anything. Try letting go of all of the emotions that rob us of peace with this one mantra: Your happiness and suffering are a result of your thoughts and actions; my wishing will not make it so. For me, that mantra removed a weight. It reminded me that I can’t fix everything and that happiness and suffering come from the exact same spot. I hope this helps you; it definitely helped me.

Peace,

Beth

P.S. We will be discussing, Digital Minimalism, by Cal Newport tomorrow night at 5pm. Zoom link to follow. Join us even if you haven’t read the book. You will absorb a lot just by hearing all of the key take-aways from the book.