on the sunday before thanksgiving, the minister who preached in the service for which i played spoke of jesus' need for self-care. he told of how jesus would withdraw from the world to go off by himself to a place of quiet to renew himself. i thought of how each of us needs to learn from the example of people like jesus and the buddha. these great teachers were filled with compassion for others, but they also knew how to have compassion for themselves. they recognized that they needed quiet time for themselves in order to be able to meet the needs of others.
over the past several years, i've learned that i need this time each morning to focus on myself and prepare for the day ahead. i won't be kind to others if i'm not first kind to myself. no matter how busy the day ahead is, my time of meditation and quiet is essential if i am to accomplish what needs to be done. it is not time wasted but rather time that is essential to my mental and emotional well-being. i believe that this contemplative practice is something each of us should find time for. we need to let our minds be free, to still the busy chatter that fills our consciousness, and simply be still with our breath.
from this stillness of mind arises the capacity for lovingkindness, compassion, tolerance, empathy, and forgiveness. if we can't have these qualities for ourselves, how can we have them for others? there is so little quiet in modern life, what with the noise of the media and traffic, the tyranny of the clock ticking, the endless list of what needs to be done, and the chatter of our minds. it is imperative that we begin and end our days with some silent time during which our minds are at ease and our bodies are still.
may we find the "me" time that we all need. may we remember that our minds are not who we are. may we carry the sense of stillness into each day and slow down while the world whirls around us. shalom.
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