The Daily Llama brings you short, one-word meditations and a corresponding quote for your complete wool-being (#seewhatwedidthere?) for Monday, December 28th through Friday, January 1st, 2021. Channel your inner zen as you exit the great dumpster fire of 2020.
MONDAY, DECEMBER 28th
WORD OF THE DAY: FORTITUDE
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
MEDITATE ON THIS:
The ability to remain resilient during seemingly insurmountable challenges relies on building mental fortitude. We nurture mental strength over time. It does not instantaneously happen because we wish for it.
Day by day, we create mental strength when we replace negative thoughts with positive ones. We practice gratitude for what we do have instead of focusing on what we don’t have. We work steadily toward our goals while seeing potential problems as opportunities for growth. We stop blaming other people for the issues we are facing, and we start taking responsibility for our attitudes, behaviors, and choices.
If we have failed at each of these tasks at the end of the day, we still don’t give up pursuing our recovery because we are too stubborn to let ourselves die from this disease.
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 29th
WORD OF THE DAY: HARBINGER
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
MEDITATE ON THIS:
We have all heard the old saying, “Wishing does not make it so.” It requires action to make dreams and wishes come true. Yet, it begins with the belief in our dreams.
Some of us have stopped dreaming or wishing. Somewhere along the way, someone or something told the small child within us that what we want is not possible, and we believed this lie and settled for so much less than what we once dreamed we could be.
For what we believe about ourselves will be what we become.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 30th
WORD OF THE DAY: TENACITY
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
MEDITATE ON THIS:
Tenacity is not a virtue we can create in ourselves when things are going well. We cultivate tenacity during times of turmoil and utmost despair. In fact, the greater the odds are against us, the more tenacity we develop.
It does not always look heroic to be tenacious. Most times, it seems like foolishness to those who would be against our success. To remain sober and resist temptation requires the tenacity of heart and mind. We cannot allow ourselves to give in to our feelings of the moment. We must strive to live by our principles, not our fleeting passions.
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 31st
WORD OF THE DAY: CLOSURE
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
MEDITATE ON THIS:
The concept of “closure” is perhaps a setup. It puts us back in a place of total dependency, and our happiness becomes a future event that can only happen if certain things happen first. We do not achieve emotional freedom this way, waiting around for something to feel finished.
Some say we can choose to finish anything that feels unresolved at any time. Many of us don’t do this, though, because we are not ready to say goodbye. Many of us like to hold onto the pain longer than what is necessary. We may have various reasons for doing so.
Yet sometimes we err on trying to let go of the pain too soon before we have sufficiently grieved. After all, our pain shows us what we value the most, and if we have lost what we love most, how can there ever be closure for that? At least, that is what our aching hearts cry out when grieving.
Those who have lost great things know this truth: there is no closure for significant losses. There is only learning how to move forward and carry our pain in a way that doesn’t crush us every day. Our pain does not lessen with time; it merely becomes easier to carry.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 1st, 2021
WORD OF THE DAY: BEGINNING
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
MEDITATE ON THIS:
Everybody loves a fresh start. We often look to the new year as a chance to begin again. We make resolutions and tell ourselves that this year will be different from the last. But more often than not, January 1st is a lot like December 31st.
Fresh starts are not reserved for Mondays and January 1st alone. The truth is that we can begin on a goal at any time. Yet we often fail at our New Year’s resolutions or other plans because we focus on changing something about ourselves that we dislike. So we attack ourselves as if we are our enemy. We may even find short-term success. But ultimately, we lose this way because the self cannot sustain an attack against itself. Defenses will kick in.
The path to sustained change starts with learning how to love and accept yourself. When you love yourself, you begin to take better care of yourself. The changes you seek to make come from a place of nurturing and loving discipline, and those changes will happen more naturally than when we try to beat ourselves into submission.
So if you make any resolution this year, seek to love yourself wholly and unconditionally.
HOW THE DAILY LLAMA PLANS ON EXITING 2020
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If you or someone you know is experiencing difficulties surrounding alcoholism, addiction, or mental illness, please reach out and ask for help. People everywhere can and want to help; you just have to know where to look. And continue to look until you find what works for you. Click here for a list of regional and national resources.
