The Practice: Reteaching our Loveliness
“Sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness.”
Daily Practice and Reflection:
In Galway Kinnell’s poem entitled “Saint Francis and the Sow” he writes, “sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness.” How true! We need to reteach, relearn, reacquaint ourselves with our own loveliness, our inner goodness that we often forget or overlook. This is our work… befriending the present moment, but more importantly befriending and loving our own sweet selves.
The Buddha described the primary cause of suffering as not remembering the truth of who we are. We all know how easy it is to leave the home of the heart, how easy it is to be lost in stories of self-judgments, limiting beliefs, and critiques. So, our work is to remember our true essence, the goodness that lies within.
Sati is the Pali (the original language of the Buddha) word for mindfulness, and it translates directly to remembering. Thus, the practice of mindfulness means to remember. And how powerful remembering can be for our well-being with our need to engage with it continuously. We must slow down, remember, and reteach ourselves that happiness doesn’t happen outside of us.
So maybe today you can take time to connect to your own goodness through some meaningful act, taking time to remember: a walk (or sit) outside in nature, a long bath, curling up with a good book or music, or making time to connect with a loved one with heartfelt presence. These are all moments that help to create meaning in our usually hectic, busy days. We truly need these moments of downtime to remember what matters most. Suzuki Roshi said, “The most important thing is to remember the most important thing” and may that be the reteaching of our loveliness.
“Life has no meaning. Each of us has meaning and we bring it to life. It is a waste to be asking the question when you are the answer. ”
Meditation Practice:
“What if you could love yourself fully, including your imperfections? What if you could love others in the same way? With mindfulness you can become the love you have sought. And with this love you are also returned to yourself.”
“Wholeness is never lost, it is only forgotten.”
“Many of us have complicated, and often negative, feelings about ourselves. When we can see ourselves as just another imperfect human, equally deserving of love as anyone else, it becomes easier to offer love to ourselves.”
“Gladness and delight do not merely balance out negative tendencies, they actually heal the aversive mind.”
“The greatest gift we give each other is that we become a mirror of goodness. When we see the goodness in others, we call it forward.”