Quote of the day: So with a boundless heart
Should one cherish all living beings:
Radiating kindness over the entire world
— Buddha, Metta Suta
Loving-kindness Barn
I stumbled upon this barn the other day in all it’s glory and couldn’t resist coming back to photograph it near sunset. It made me happy to think of all the people who drive by and see this loving-kindness prayer every day. It also reminded me to send out thoughts of kindness and compassion to all beings and to practice compassion for myself.
I wrote recently about recognizing that I’ve been operating unconsciously much of the past few months, feeling driven to succeed in my new business venture as a photographer. When I first realized how driven I’d been, I wanted to beat myself up for once again getting lost in the woods of self-deception. And then I took a step back and recognized that I had become aware of my self-deception and once aware of it, chose consciously to live differently — for that moment at least.
I decided to imagine what I would say to my best friend if she told me a similar story. I hope that I would speak with great compassion and kindness, like this, “Wow. How wonderful that you woke up to your underlying feelings and intentions. Do you know how hard it is to wake up in our culture? Be kind to yourself and recognize that breaking a lifetime of patterns of behavior does not happen overnight. Each time you think a thought based in loving kindness for yourself and the world, you create a tiny spark of positive energy. Each time you confront a thought that comes from a sense of fear or lack and replace it with a thought that comes from a sense of gratitude, trust, and kindness, you light a candle in the darkness. Each time you continue to do what your heart tells you to do rather than listen to fear-based “rational” thoughts, you create an impetus that will grow with each courageous deed.” So that’s what I’ll tell myself next time I get scared or wake up to how I’ve fallen asleep again. Loving-kindness as a way of life.
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