The Daily Llama brings you the word of the day, short meditations for your complete wool-being (#seewhatwedidthere?) for Monday, December 14th through Friday, December 18th.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 14th
WORD OF THE DAY: CLARITY
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Meditate on this:
It is all too easy to let our lives become cluttered with unnecessary stuff. Things come into our lives every day, and we decide whether to keep those things or let them go. The absence of an active decision to let something go is an active decision to allow it to remain.
The same holds true for our emotional lives. It is all too easy to attach ourselves to all sorts of thoughts, feelings, expectations, and judgments that wander into our minds throughout the day. Just like our homes, if we do not routinely take out the garbage, our minds and hearts quickly become cluttered with emotions that weigh us down.
With our physical spaces, we can adopt clear rules for what we will keep in our homes and what we won’t. Similarly, we can have clarity of purpose about what thoughts and feelings we choose to keep and which ones we will let go of. When we lack clear emotional boundaries, our lives quickly fill up with chaos and frustration.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 15th
WORD OF THE DAY: STILLNESS
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Mediate on this:
We cannot obtain greater clarity in our lives if we fail to create intentional moments of stillness. To increase our chances of having peace of mind and heart, we must learn how to cultivate quietness in our lives on a routine basis. Unplugging from the world and plugging into our hearts is necessary for spiritual and emotional well-being as eating right and exercising is for physical well-being.
Some of us have purposefully designed our lives to be loud and busy to avoid having a relationship with our hearts. Perhaps we fear that if we go into our hearts, our pain will drown us. But we do not heal our pain by avoiding it or dressing it up with busy-ness. The only way out is in.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 16th
WORD OF THE DAY: SHINE
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Meditate on this:
It can be unbearable to maintain an open and loving heart this year, which has presented so many individual and collective challenges. Perhaps you feel that this year has worn you down so far that you are not sure there is a “return to normal.” And you would be right. For your journey does not take you backward but forward.
But just because you cannot return to the way you once were, it does not mean that things are over for you. It is very much the opposite. Your deepest pain is what reveals your purpose. Your time to shine is coming. So hang on, you great diamond in the making.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 17th
WORD OF THE DAY: BRIGHTEN
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Meditate on this:
For many of us, the winter months create a challenge in maintaining stable mental health. The long nights combined with cold weather make it difficult to fend off depressive thoughts and feelings. Navigating the holidays can trigger anxiety and stress. It can be tough not to replay our most significant failures and mistakes in our heads over and over again as we complete another year in our lives.
Perhaps it is intentional that so many people and cultures have holidays that focus on the light during the darkest month of the year. One of our deepest psychological needs is hope. Whether you light a menorah, a kinara, a bonfire, or a Christmas tree this season, take time this month to meditate on how the light shines through the darkness, and the night has never put it out.
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 18th
WORD OF THE DAY: ENLIGHTENMENT
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
Enlightenment can mean different things to different people in different contexts. In Buddhism, enlightenment essentially means “to awaken.” In Hinduism religions, the Sanskrit words for enlightenment translate to mean “liberation” or “letting go.” In Western philosophy, enlightenment can mean “self-actualization.”
The list goes on, and nobody entirely agrees on the definition of enlightenment or how somebody can obtain it. With such a variety of meanings, no wonder Anne Lamott encourages us to pack “snacks and magazines” for the journey.
But what if we could simplify the concept for our daily living? To lighten can mean three things essentially: 1) to illuminate, shine or glow, 2) to make it less burdensome, heavy, or oppressive, and 3) to create cheerfulness or liveliness. What if we embodied these definitions through how we live? What would that look like?
- Tell the truth: We can lighten our world by telling the truth and doing the next right or just thing
- Practice forgiveness: We can lighten our world by practicing forgiveness, letting go of old resentments, loving ourselves and our neighbors, and giving help where and when we can without harming.
- Stay humble: We can lighten our world by staying humble and not taking ourselves so seriously.
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