Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.
Mahatma Gandhi
February is a time to celebrate love and freedom. We’ve created holidays for both. I pondered for a while how I could connect the two. It was challenging to say in a few words what has often been an ache in my heart these last few years. I invite you to ponder too.
In this moment 2023, both love and freedom seem to be hiding beneath the rubble of powerful destructive choices being made. These days setting clear personal boundaries (on both media and people), experiencing joy, making positive loving choices (self-care first), and feeling free to do so might feel elusive, maddening and uncomfortable.
There’s a wonderful mindfulness practice called RAIN. Some of you may know I teach it. It’s a deeply meaningful way to keep our heads high above water when overwhelmed by the world, social networks, families, even ourselves. If you don’t already know it, please check these excellent resources to learn about it.
Those of us who still have freedom can choose to seek inner peace and health wealth. We can create islands of calmness, one loving mindful meditation at a time as often as we need. You know the one breath solution. We can become more vigilant, less reactive, less judgmental, gentler, kinder, loving, and quieter in our own hearts and minds. That is how we change the world as Gandhi taught, one thought, one action at a time, each of us contributing. We can freely choose to practice being the change we’d love to see in the world.