Loving Kindness
I've been trying to practice the Loving Kindness prayer more frequently and it's trippy, I have to say. Instead of getting pissed off at the person in front of me who's taking forever with their checkout and being rude on top of it, I send them loving kindness - It goes a little something like this:
May I be safe. May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I live with ease.
And then, turn this mantra outside of yourself:
May you be safe. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease.
So we aren't necessarily condoning their behavior, we are just wishing them a life of ease and freedom from whatever it is they have going on that is causing them to act out in undesirable and unkind ways.
Admittedly, this takes some getting used to. Who wants to spend their energy on someone who doesn't "deserve" it? Beginning this practice was a big struggle for me at first but it has definitely helped soften and transform my heart. Especially when I look inward and realize that we all have played the role of the jerk.
I found myself pretty annoyed while waiting at the post office last week as I had to rush to pick my kids up from the bus stop and instead of huffing and puffing, I sent loving kindness to the staff and everyone waiting in line. It was a much more productive use of my time, and afterwards, I felt energized instead of depleted.
I chose to write about loving kindness today for a reason. Stress this week can be at an all-time high between travel, last-minute shopping and family obligations. I highly recommend practicing the Loving Kindness prayer this week and being open to any transformation or change that may result from it!
Try shooting some loving kindness across the dinner table to the obnoxious family member you avoid all year, or maybe to the person trying to push through the crowded aisle instead of waiting in line to deplane, or the woman rudely screaming to the waitstaff. This is not an easy task, but it is interesting to observe how a different approach from you can transform the entire experience.
Do you practice the Loving Kindness prayer? How have you seen it work it your life?
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Also in Self-Care Sunday Blog Posts
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Whether it’s love, good health, a solid relationship, serenity, freedom, a title, respect, or a certain number in the bank or on the scale - anything you chase will always be outside of you.
Apart from you.
A Perpetual Separation.
The energy of chasing by nature keeps you in pursuit and the desired "thing" running away from you. This creates more resistance & frustration and actually widens the gap between you and what you want.
Andrea Pacini
Author