Words of Wisdom for March 19, 2024

Each one of us carries within us beautiful, wholesome qualities that we can always be in touch with when we need them. I want to lift up four of them that have been incredibly supportive for me to reflect on and nourish.

The first quality is freshness. Like a flower, we each have the capacity to offer beauty and joy to ourselves and others. Thich Nhat Hanh often said the Buddha is our freshness, our sense of wonder, gratitude, creativity and generosity. We can consciously cultivate this quality of openness, enthusiasm, curiosity, and interest in our own experience and the world around us, both in our meditation and in our daily life.

The second quality is solidity. We can touch the strength of the mountain inside of us, by contemplating mountains outside of us. We each have the ability to remain steady and unwavering, even in the face of challenges. We can develop this capacity for stillness, stability, focus and magnanimity by stopping and checking in with ourselves and also by remembering the times in our lives when we have been trustworthy, loyal, or have offered friendship or refuge to others or ourselves.

The third quality is calm. We can visualize a quiet forest pool and experience this same tranquility inside of us. It is possible for us to connect with the reality of quietude, peace, undisturbed, unruffled clarity in us and we can grow this ability. Every time we allow what is happening in our minds and emotions to settle, we are developing the ability to reflect reality clearly, as it is.

The fourth quality is freedom. When you picture the vast open sky, with no obstruction, full of space, that is something we can experience inside of us as well. Like a moon floating in the night sky on a cloudless night, we, too, have infinite space within. We can learn to give ourselves and others space to be who we are, without expectations and projections. The freedom that arises with this spaciousness is the most precious gift.

– Kaira Jewel Lingo, Sangha Live

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