The Daily Llama brings you the word of the day, short meditations for your complete wool-being (#seewhatwedidthere?) for Monday, October 5th through Friday, October 9th.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 5th
WORD OF THE DAY: RELATIONSHIP
MEDITATE ON THIS:
All relationships require maintenance if they are to function, whether it be our relationship with ourselves, with others or with our Higher Power. If we neglect any of these relationships for too long, they will inevitably be damaged from our neglect. Not necessarily irreparable damage, but harmed nonetheless. It is important to do routine maintenance on all of our relationships. What relationships have I been neglecting lately that I need to give my attention?
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 6th
WORD OF THE DAY: HARMONY
MEDITATE ON THIS:
If we are to have peace of mind, we need to integrate what we think and say and how we behave into alignment. That is not to say we will never encounter a contradiction within ourselves again. But the striving toward having integrity in all that we say and do is what matters. How can I work toward having more consistency between what I believe and how I behave?
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 7th
WORD OF THE DAY: SERENDIPITY
MEDITATE ON THIS:
Merriam-Webster defines serendipity as the “phenomenon of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for.” It is not something we earn or work hard to actualize in our lives. It is not something we can force to happen or control. It is simply a gift from the universe given to us just for fun. We have a better chance of experiencing serendipity if we practice awareness and openness to what is around us. Am I open to receive spontaneous gifts from the universe today?
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 8th
WORD OF THE DAY: CHERISH
MEDITATE ON THIS:
Being alone and being lonely are not the same things. When we cultivate a loving and kind relationship with ourselves and with our Higher Power, it decreases feelings of loneliness because we find we are always in good company. We can learn to cherish our solitude as a precious gift, but to do so we must get rid of the old scripts and schemas that make us view being alone as a terrible thing. How can I cherish my moments of solitude and use them to learn how to love myself more?
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 9th
WORD OF THE DAY: SOLACE
MEDITATE ON THIS:
Studies have shown that walks in nature have a positive effect on mental health, and very rarely have any negative impact. In fact, being in nature has a positive connection to perceiving oneself to be more resilient against life’s stressors (see study below) John Muir writes, “I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” We are not designed to live our lives in inboxes. We’re designed to live in wide-open spaces. Going for a walk in nature does not have to entail a grand escapade up a mountain. We can simply go for a walk at the nearest park, or sit by a lake or river and take in the sunset (or sunrise if you’re an early bird). But getting outside is an important activity to support our physical and mental and spiritual health. How can I get outside more to support my well-being?
Need more evidence? Check out what the US National Library of Medicine National Institutions of Health has to on the subject here.
FEEL LIKE YOU NEED MORE DAILY LLAMA IN YOUR LIFE?
P.S. The Daily Llama believes wholeheartedly in self-care and therefore takes the weekends off to re-energize and come up with new words for the following week. Check out past words of the day here.
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