Intent v/s resolutions

The beginning of the year calls upon reflections of the last year. Most often than not the amazing parts or sometimes the not-so-good parts. Each of us has our own share of ecstatic moments or sometimes completely the opposite. Some years bring us joy and some sadness and sometimes it's a mixed bag of emotions. Wherever we are we end up thinking about what we doing last year at this time.

New year resolutions are passé. What we really need are intentions and practice these intentions consciously and with mindfulness. How do we move forward and bring peace and calmness into our lives? What are the constant reminders we need?

Let us remind ourselves that wherever we stand in life, we have one tiny thing to be thankful or grateful for however challenging situations may be. Let's find that one thing and embrace gratitude.

Let's embrace kindness in our hearts - first towards ourselves and spread whatever we can to everyone around us. Lets us practice loving kindness with the difficult relationships around us and experience peaceful moments.

Let us not forget the virtue of compassion and consciously practise being compassionate to all beings around us and most importantly to ourselves.

Let us walk into 2022 with a sense of hope and love.

Love and light in 2022.

Comments

itadaki Mas - The Japanese thank you for the meal at the table .

頂きます（いただきます） to receive; to get; to accept; to take (humble). This explains why you say it before you eat. You're "receiving" food, after all. Itadakimasu (and its dictionary form itadaku 頂くいただ ) comes from Japan's roots in Buddhism, which teaches respect for all living things. I was introduced to itadaki masu by my Japanese friend Etsuko who had dinner with us at my home in Lonavala. It turned out that Etsuko had a sudden pasta craving and wanted me to cook some for her. Before our meal, Etsuko thanked my mother with clasped palms as a gesture of gratitude, for the hands that cook our meals. Etsuko then introduced us to the concept of itadak imasu and also told us that this meant saying thank you to everyone in the chain of food distribution - bringing to mind the farmer and his family, the truck driver who drives the produce to the city and so on . A second of thought is given to each person in this chain of bringing food to our table. At that point, I remember b...

Always fill your own cup first...

Throughout our lives we are expected to do things for each other, even it is something we wouldn't like to do. Pressing the no button becomes difficult, almost impossible. As kids - our relationship with our parents is one of co-dependency unless circumstances decide otherwise. Our parents are equally dependent and thus starts the cycle of expectations and living up to people's expectations. We grow up do to these things for our friends, partners, children, in-laws, and so on. Why - because this is the way it is supposed to be? Almost like a generational curse. We end up becoming a similar kind of parent, not letting children get out of our clasp. Whether we like it or not, we are already in the trap. This whole process can be very exhausting for us and our relationships. In the scheme of things, we forget about ourselves, our needs, our dreams. It is almost like quicksand that cannot come out of it. Some of us learn the hard way and able to make a clear distinction of putting ...

That which holds us ....

I am going to stick to the connect with the Earth element that I wrote about last week. The pandemic has given us a lot of time to observe and re-think some things, right from fitness to looking inward and most definitely outward. It has also made us conscious of the environment. We now realize that maybe we didn’t need to consume so much in the materialistic sense. Our wardrobes are full of clothes, and our shoes think we are dead or something (At least mine think I am :)… I miss them too ). After having consumed so much - we wonder if we can differentiate between a need and a want. This may be an excellent time to ponder over some of these parts of our daily lives. We have a place of influence in our homes. We may be primary or secondary consumers of many products, which may help us practice waste management or avoid plastic. You may notice that these products are slightly expensive. But if we can invest in our shoes and our clothes and our lipsticks and our nail paints. You g...

When thoughts become things..

Search This Blog