Speaker 1: Welcome to your quiet moment. Take a deep breath in
Speaker 1: through your nose and let it leave you slowly through
Speaker 1: your mouth. Feel the air moved through your body, and
Speaker 1: let it carry with it the noise of the day.
Speaker 1: You are here now, in this moment, and nothing else
Speaker 1: requires your attention. There is nowhere you need to be,
Speaker 1: There is nothing you need to do. Just this, just here,
Speaker 1: just breath meeting breath, breath by breath. Let your shoulders soften,
Speaker 1: let your jar release, Let your eyes close if they
Speaker 1: have not already, and let the world outside this moment
Speaker 1: fall gently away. Tonight we are going to walk together
Speaker 1: through a practice called loving kindness. It is an ancient
Speaker 1: practice given to us by the Buddha more than two
Speaker 1: thousand years ago, and it is as alive today as
Speaker 1: it was then. It is a practice of offering warmth
Speaker 1: to yourself first, and then gently extending that warmth outward
Speaker 1: until it reaches every corner of your life. Some people
Speaker 1: call it meta, which means loving kindness in the Old
Speaker 1: poly language. Others simply call it the practice of love.
Speaker 1: Whatever name we give it, the heart of it is this.
Speaker 1: You sit quietly, you breathe, and you offer to yourself,
Speaker 1: and to others, the wish that they be well, that
Speaker 1: they be safe, that they be at peace. It is
Speaker 1: a practice so simple that even a child can do it,
Speaker 1: and yet when we sit with it deeply, it can
Speaker 1: transform the way we see ourselves and the way we
Speaker 1: see everyone we meet. So tonight we are going to
Speaker 1: slow down. We are going to make space, and we
Speaker 1: are going to walk through loving kindness, step by step,
Speaker 1: beginning with you, then moving out to the people you
Speaker 1: love than to the people who are harder to love,
Speaker 1: and finally to all beings everywhere. Take your time. There
Speaker 1: is no rush, and if your mind wanders, that is
Speaker 1: perfectly fine. That is what minds do. Each time you
Speaker 1: notice you have wandered, just gently return to the breath
Speaker 1: and to the wish, and begin it again. Let us
Speaker 1: begin before we go further. Let your body find its position.
Speaker 1: If you are sitting, feel the weight of your body.
Speaker 1: Settle into the chair or into the cushion beneath you.
Speaker 1: Let the chair hold you, Let the ground hold the chair.
Speaker 1: You do not have to hold yourself up. The earth
Speaker 1: is doing that work. If you are lying down, let
Speaker 1: the back of your body grow heavy against the floor
Speaker 1: or the bed. Let the back of your head, your shoulders,
Speaker 1: your spine, your hips, the backs of your heels all
Speaker 1: grow soft and heavy, sinking into whatever is beneath you.
Speaker 1: There is nothing to hold onto, there is nothing to grip,
Speaker 1: Just this body, breathing in this place, in this moment.
Speaker 1: Bring your attention now to the place where your body
Speaker 1: meets the breath. You can feel it at the nostrils,
Speaker 1: where the air moves in and out, or you can
Speaker 1: feel it in the chest, where the ribs expand and
Speaker 1: soften with each breath, or in the belly, where the
Speaker 1: breath rises and falls like a tide. Choose the place
Speaker 1: that feels easiest for you tonight, and rest your awareness there.
Speaker 1: Do not try to change the breath, Do not try
Speaker 1: to make it deeper or slower or longer. Just notice it.
Speaker 1: The in breath, the outbreath, the pause between the in breath,
Speaker 1: the outbreath, the pause between each breath is a whole life.
Speaker 1: It it begins, it moves through you when it leaves you,
Speaker 1: and another comes, and another and another. Let yourself be
Speaker 1: carried by the breath the way a leaf is carried
Speaker 1: by a slow moving stream. You do not have to steer,
Speaker 1: You do not have to push, just float. Now. Let
Speaker 1: us take a few moments to arrive fully in the body.
Speaker 1: Let your attention travel slowly down through you, from the
Speaker 1: crown of your head all the way to the tips
Speaker 1: of your toes. Notice the scalp, Notice the forehead, smooth
Speaker 1: and unhurried. Notice the small muscles around the eyes. Notice
Speaker 1: the jaw gently unclenched, the teeth softly apart, the tongue
Speaker 1: resting in the floor of the mouth. Notice the back
Speaker 1: of the neck growing longer. Notice the throat opened and easy.
Speaker 1: Notice the shoulders, which so often carry the weight of
Speaker 1: our days, let them drop just a little with each exhale.
Speaker 1: Notice the arms, the upper arms, the elbows, the forearms,
Speaker 1: the wrists, the palms, the fingers, Let them be heavy.
Speaker 1: Notice the chest rising and falling. Notice the ribs expanding
Speaker 1: sideways in back like wings. Notice the belly, soft, moving
Speaker 1: with the breath. Notice the lower back, the hips, the seat.
Speaker 1: Notice the thighs, the knees, the calves, the ankles, the feet,
Speaker 1: the heels, the soles, the toes. From the top of
Speaker 1: the head to the tips of the toes. You are here,
Speaker 1: You are whole, You are present, You are welcome. Here,
Speaker 1: in this body, in this breath, in this moment. Now
Speaker 1: take a long, slow inhil through the nose, fill the
Speaker 1: lungs all the way to the bottom, and release the
Speaker 1: breath through the moth with a soft sigh. Take another
Speaker 1: inhale slowly fully, and exhale slowly fully. One more inhale
Speaker 1: and exhale. Let the breath find its own rhythm, now
Speaker 1: easy and natural, like the breathing of a sleeping child.
Speaker 1: You are settling in. You are arriving. There is nowhere
Speaker 1: else to be. As you settle in, let me invite
Speaker 1: you to consider something. Loving. Kindness is not something we
Speaker 1: have to invent. It is not something we have to
Speaker 1: create from nothing. It is already here. It is already
Speaker 1: inside you. It may be quiet, it may be buried
Speaker 1: under years of criticism or worry, or grief or exhaustion,
Speaker 1: but it is here, like a small, warm, cold buried
Speaker 1: under ash. And tonight our practice is simply to blow
Speaker 1: jectly on that call and let it glow again. So
Speaker 1: often we are taught that we need to earn love,
Speaker 1: that we need to deserve it, that it comes only
Speaker 1: when we have achieved something, or pleased someone, or becomes
Speaker 1: someone different from who we are. But loving kindness teaches
Speaker 1: something else. It teaches that you are already worthy of
Speaker 1: your own love, right here, right now, in this exact body,
Speaker 1: with this exact history, with these exact scars, and these
Speaker 1: exact gifts, You are worthy of your own kindness. And
Speaker 1: that is the place we begin, not with anyone else,
Speaker 1: with you. So, as you breathe, let a simple question
Speaker 1: settle into your heart, a question that does not need
Speaker 1: an answer, just the question itself. Can I offer myself
Speaker 1: kindness tonight? Can I let myself be held by my
Speaker 1: own love the way I it hold someone I love
Speaker 1: very much? Let that question rest, Do not try to
Speaker 1: answer it, just let it be there, breathing with you.
Speaker 1: Now gently we begin with the simplest wish, the wish
Speaker 1: you offer to yourself. There are many forms this wish
Speaker 1: can take. The most traditional begins like this, May I
Speaker 1: be safe, May I be healthy, May I be at peace,
Speaker 1: may I live with ease. Let us take these one
Speaker 1: at a time and breathe them into your heart. As
Speaker 1: you breathe in, you might silently say to yourself, may
Speaker 1: I be safe, And as you breathe out, you might add,
Speaker 1: may I be safe, Let the wish try through you
Speaker 1: with the breath. May I be safe from harm, Yes,
Speaker 1: but also from the harm we do to ourselves, the
Speaker 1: harsh self talk, the way we speak to ourselves when
Speaker 1: we make a mistake. May I be safe from that?
Speaker 1: May I be safe from the violence of my own
Speaker 1: inner critic. May I be safe in body, in mind,
Speaker 1: in heart. Breathe in, May I be safe. Breathe out.
Speaker 1: May I be safe. Let this wish sink into you.
Speaker 1: Do not worry about whether you believe it. The wish
Speaker 1: itself is the practice. The wishing is enough. Let us
Speaker 1: move to the next wish. May I be healthy. May
Speaker 1: my body be well, and may my mind be well,
Speaker 1: and may my heart be well. Health is not only
Speaker 1: the absence of illness. It is the presence of something.
Speaker 1: It is the presence of energy to do the things
Speaker 1: that matter to you, the presence of a mind that
Speaker 1: is not at war with itself, the presence of a
Speaker 1: heart that is open enough to feel and steady enough
Speaker 1: to bear what comes. May I be healthy. Breathe in
Speaker 1: and wish yourself health. Breathe out and wish yourself health.
Speaker 1: May I be healthy. Let the breath carry it through you.
Speaker 1: May I be at peace. This is the heart of
Speaker 1: the wish. May the storm inside me settle. May the
Speaker 1: racing mind find its quiet center. May the clenched jaw soften,
Speaker 1: May the tight chest open. May I know, even for
Speaker 1: a moment tonight, what peace feels like in my own body.
Speaker 1: Breathe in. May I be at peace. Breathe out. May
Speaker 1: I be at peace. And finally, may I late with ease.
Speaker 1: May I not suffer more than I need to. May
Speaker 1: I forgive myself when I fall short. May I be
Speaker 1: gentle with the parts of me that are struggling. May
Speaker 1: I live with ease, and not with the grinding effort
Speaker 1: of trying to be someone I am not. May I
Speaker 1: live with ease. Breathe in. May I live with these
Speaker 1: breathe out. May I live with these, stay with these
Speaker 1: wishes for a few more breaths, let them circle through you.
Speaker 1: May I be safe. May I be healthy. May I
Speaker 1: be at peace. May I live with ease. There is
Speaker 1: nowhere else to be, just you and the wish and
Speaker 1: the breath. Now, let us take the wishes a little deeper.
Speaker 1: As you breathe in, see if you can invite a
Speaker 1: feeling of safety into the body feel the bones holding
Speaker 1: you up, Feel the breath moving in and out, Feel
Speaker 1: the ground beneath you wherever you are. Notice that in
Speaker 1: this moment, you are alive, and aliveness itself is a
Speaker 1: kind of safety. You are here in a body that
Speaker 1: has carried you through everything so far, every joy, every grief,
Speaker 1: every loss, every beginning. This body has held you. It
Speaker 1: has not let you go. So let it continue to
Speaker 1: hold you now. As you breathe out, release any tension
Speaker 1: you are carrying in the body. Let it go. As
Speaker 1: you breathe in, breathe in the wish, may I be safe,
Speaker 1: And as you breathe out, breed out the wish. May
Speaker 1: I be safe. Let the wish become the breath. Let
Speaker 1: the breath become the wish. There is nothing else to do,
Speaker 1: just this. May I be safe, May I be healthy?
Speaker 1: May I be at peace? May I live with ease.
Speaker 1: As you continue to breathe, let me invite you to
Speaker 1: place a hand over your heart, if that feels right,
Speaker 1: Feel the warmth of your own hand against your chest.
Speaker 1: Feel the heart beating beneath your palm. That heart has
Speaker 1: been beating every moment since you were born. It has
Speaker 1: not stopped. It has not asked for your attention. It
Speaker 1: has simply kept going, faithful, steady, loving you in its
Speaker 1: own qual way. Let this hand on your heart become
Speaker 1: part of the practice. As you breathe in, feel the
Speaker 1: hand rise, as you breathe out, feel the handfall, and
Speaker 1: between the breaths, feel the warmth. May I be safe,
Speaker 1: you say, May I be healthy, May I be at peace,
Speaker 1: May I live with ease. May I be held by
Speaker 1: my own love tonight and always, May I be held.
Speaker 1: As you offer these wishes to yourself, you may notice
Speaker 1: something arising, some resistance, some part of you that does
Speaker 1: not quite believe you deserve this, or some part that
Speaker 1: thinks it is selfish to wish yourself well, or some
Speaker 1: part that says, why should I be at peace when
Speaker 1: others are suffering, or some part that simply feels nothing
Speaker 1: at all and wonders what is along with you for
Speaker 1: feeling nothing. If any of this is happening for you,
Speaker 1: I want you to know it is normal, it is human,
Speaker 1: and it is welcome here. The practice of loving kindness
Speaker 1: is not about forcing yourself to feel loving. It is
Speaker 1: about being with whatever is here with kindness. So if
Speaker 1: resistance shows up, just notice it. Just breathe with it,
Speaker 1: You might say, silently to the resistance itself, may you
Speaker 1: be at peace. You might offer the wish to the
Speaker 1: part of you that does not believe you deserve the wish,
Speaker 1: even the part of you that criticizes you, that judges you,
Speaker 1: that compares you to others. That part of you is
Speaker 1: also a you, and it too deserves kindness. So let
Speaker 1: me invite you, if resistance is here, to offer the
Speaker 1: wish to it. May I be safe, you say to
Speaker 1: the resistance. May I be healthy, May I be at peace.
Speaker 1: May I live with ease. And then see if anything softens,
Speaker 1: See if the resistance loosens its grip even a little.
Speaker 1: And if nothing softens, that is fine too. Just notice,
Speaker 1: just breathe and offer the wish again. Now let us
Speaker 1: go a little deeper. Imagine, if you will, a younger
Speaker 1: version of yourself, not a stranger, just you, at some
Speaker 1: earth age, perhaps a child, perhaps a teenager, perhaps even younger.
Speaker 1: The age does not matter. Just bring to mind a
Speaker 1: version of you who was smaller and more vulnerable and
Speaker 1: in need of care. You might remember their face, or
Speaker 1: you might not. You might remember what they loved or
Speaker 1: what they were afraid of. You might remember a specific moment,
Speaker 1: a birthday, a school day, a quiet evening in a
Speaker 1: room that fell too big. Let this younger version of
Speaker 1: you come closer. Now, let them stand or sit near you,
Speaker 1: and see if you can offer them the same wish
Speaker 1: we have been practicing. May you be safe, you say
Speaker 1: to this younger you. May you be healthy, May you
Speaker 1: be at peace. May you live with ease. And see
Speaker 1: if you can imagine them receiving it. See if you
Speaker 1: can picture their shoulders softening. See if you can imagine
Speaker 1: a small smile or a small breath of relief. They
Speaker 1: have been waiting, perhaps for a long time, for someone
Speaker 1: to offer them this kindness. You are that someone. Now
Speaker 1: you are the adult they needed. And the wish is
Speaker 1: the same wish. May you be safe, May you be healthy,
Speaker 1: May you be at peace. May you live with ease.
Speaker 1: Stay with this for a few breaths. Let the wish
Speaker 1: move through you and to the them and back to you.
Speaker 1: There is no separation between you and them. You are
Speaker 1: the same person with more years on your body. They
Speaker 1: live inside you still, in the way you carry yourself,
Speaker 1: in the way you react to the world. So loving
Speaker 1: them is a way of loving yourself, and loving yourself
Speaker 1: is a way of loving them. Now take a moment
Speaker 1: to notice how this younger you is feeling. Notice the
Speaker 1: expression on their face. Notice if they are holding anything
Speaker 1: in their hands. Notice if they have been waiting to
Speaker 1: be seen. If tears come, let them come. If a
Speaker 1: memory surfaces, let it surface. You are not alone with it. Now.
Speaker 1: The adult you was here with opener arms offering the wish.
Speaker 1: May you be safe, you say again, May you be healthy,
Speaker 1: May you be at peace. May you live with these
Speaker 1: And if you wish, you can imagine picking them up
Speaker 1: if they are small, or holding their hand if they
Speaker 1: are older, or simply standing beside them, shoulder to shoulder
Speaker 1: in silent companionship. Let them know, through your presence, through
Speaker 1: your breath, through the wish you offer, that they are
Speaker 1: not forgotten, that they are loved, that they were always loved,
Speaker 1: even when the world did not show it. May you
Speaker 1: be safe, May you be healthy, May you be at peace.
Speaker 1: May you live with these? Day with this image for
Speaker 1: a few more breaths, then gently let the younger you rest.
Speaker 1: They do not need to leave. They can stay in
Speaker 1: the room with you close by, but the focus can
Speaker 1: soften now, and as you breathe out, let the wish
Speaker 1: travel through the body and back to yourself. May I
Speaker 1: be safe, May I be healthy, May I be at peace?
Speaker 1: May I live with ease. Now, gently let us widen
Speaker 1: the circle. Bring to mind someone you love, someone who
Speaker 1: is easy to love, a friend, a family member, a partner,
Speaker 1: a child, a pet, someone who, when you think of them,
Speaker 1: brings a small warmth to your chest. You do not
Speaker 1: need to see their face in detail. Just bring the
Speaker 1: feet of them into the room with you, Let them
Speaker 1: sit beside you or across from you, and now offer
Speaker 1: them the wish. May you be safe, May you be healthy,
Speaker 1: May you be at peace. May you live with these
Speaker 1: Breathe in and wish them safety. Breathe out and wish
Speaker 1: them safety. May you be safe from the dangers of
Speaker 1: the world. Yes, but also from the dangers of their
Speaker 1: own minds, their own worries. May you be safe. May
Speaker 1: you be healthy. May their body be well, May their
Speaker 1: mind be well, May their heart be well. May you
Speaker 1: be healthy. May you be at peace. May the storms
Speaker 1: inside them settle, May their minds fall quiet, May their
Speaker 1: hearts find rest. May you be at peace. May you
Speaker 1: live with ease. May they not suffer more than they
Speaker 1: need to. May they forgive themselves. May they be held
Speaker 1: by life and by love, and by the kindness of
Speaker 1: everyone who cares about them. May you live with ease.
Speaker 1: Breathe in and wish them all of this. Breathe out
Speaker 1: and wish them all of this. And notice how the
Speaker 1: wish feels in your own heart as you offer it.
Speaker 1: Notice if it brings warmth to you as well. Notice
Speaker 1: that offering kindness does not subtract from the kindness inside you,
Speaker 1: it multiplied. The heart that loves is not drained by loving.
Speaker 1: The heart that loves is fed by loving. So let
Speaker 1: yourself be fed, Let yourself enjoy offering this wish. May
Speaker 1: you be safe, May you be healthy, May you be
Speaker 1: at peace. May you live with ease. Stay with this
Speaker 1: for a few more breaths. Take a moment to imagine
Speaker 1: this person in a peaceful scene. Perhaps they are at
Speaker 1: home doing something they love. Perhaps they are laughing. Perhaps
Speaker 1: they are asleep, safe under a roof, breathing easily. Let
Speaker 1: the wish settle around them like soft life, like warm air.
Speaker 1: May everything be well for them. May they know somewhere
Speaker 1: inside that they are loved, not only by you, by
Speaker 1: life itself, by the breath that moves through them, by
Speaker 1: the body that carries them. May you be safe, May
Speaker 1: you be healthy, May you be at peace. May you
Speaker 1: live with these. Now let us widen the circle again.
Speaker 1: Bring to mind someone you do not know very well,
Speaker 1: someone you have seen but do not really know. A
Speaker 1: neighbor you pass on the street, a barista at the
Speaker 1: coffee shop, a person in the next car over at
Speaker 1: the traffic light, someone who is to you mostly a stranger.
Speaker 1: You do not need to know their name, you do
Speaker 1: not need to know their story. Just bring the feeling
Speaker 1: of them into the room. They are there, and they
Speaker 1: too are a person with a body and a heart
Speaker 1: and a mind, and they too want to be safe
Speaker 1: and healthy and at peace and to live with ease.
Speaker 1: They too have known suffering, They too have loved someone
Speaker 1: and lost someone. They too are doing the best they
Speaker 1: can with what they have been given. So offer them
Speaker 1: the wish. May you be safe, May you be healthy,
Speaker 1: May you be at peace, May you live with ease.
Speaker 1: Breathe in and wish them well. Breathe out and wish
Speaker 1: them well. There is no need to feel anything special.
Speaker 1: The wish does not need to come with fireworks. It
Speaker 1: can come quietly, like a small candle placed in a window.
Speaker 1: May you be safe, May you be healthy, May you
Speaker 1: be at peace. May you live with these. Notice how
Speaker 1: it feels to offer the wish to a stranger. Notice
Speaker 1: if there is any judgment that arises, or any impatience.
Speaker 1: If any of that arises, just notice it and offer
Speaker 1: the wish to that judgment too. May I be at peace,
Speaker 1: you say to the judgment, May I live with these,
Speaker 1: And then return to the wish for the stranger. May
Speaker 1: you be safe, May you be healthy, May you be
Speaker 1: at peace. May you live with ease. Now we come
Speaker 1: to the part of the practice that asks the most
Speaker 1: of us, the part that for many people is the
Speaker 1: heart of the whole journey. Bring to mind someone who
Speaker 1: is difficult for you. This could be someone you are
Speaker 1: still in conflict with, or someone whose actions hurt you,
Speaker 1: or someone who simply irritates you again and again in
Speaker 1: small ways. You do not have to bring the most
Speaker 1: painful person in your life, just someone who, when you
Speaker 1: think of them, brings a small tightness to your chest.
Speaker 1: Just bring them into the room and now offer them
Speaker 1: the wish. May you be safe, May you be healthy,
Speaker 1: May you be at peace, May you live with ease.
Speaker 1: Notice if the wish feels impossible, Notice if some part
Speaker 1: of you rebels against it. We have been hurt by people,
Speaker 1: and we have learned to protect ourselves by withhold of love.
Speaker 1: That is a wise thing to do in many situations.
Speaker 1: But tonight, in this practice, we are not being asked
Speaker 1: to forgive them, or to reconcile with them, or to
Speaker 1: put ourselves back in harm's way. We are simply being
Speaker 1: asked to wish them well. Torrect recognize that beneath the
Speaker 1: harm they have done, they are a person with the
Speaker 1: same longings we have. They want to be safe, they
Speaker 1: want to be safe, they want to be healthy, they
Speaker 1: want to be at peace. They want to live with
Speaker 1: these They are not so different from us. So if
Speaker 1: you can breathe in and wish them safety, may you
Speaker 1: be safe. Breathe out and wish them safety. May you
Speaker 1: be healthy, May you be at peace, May you live
Speaker 1: with these. If the wish feels too much, you can
Speaker 1: modify it. You can offer them the wish that they
Speaker 1: find their own peace. You can offer them the wish
Speaker 1: that they let go of their own suffering, which is
Speaker 1: the root of the harm they have done. You can
Speaker 1: offer them the wish that they come to know the
Speaker 1: love they received. You do not have to offer them
Speaker 1: anything you cannot offer. You only have to offer the
Speaker 1: smallest wish, the smallest seat of kindness, and that seat
Speaker 1: is enough. May you be safe, May you be healthy,
Speaker 1: May you be at peace. May you live with ease.
Speaker 1: Let us now widen the circle further, beyond the difficult person,
Speaker 1: beyond the stranger, beyond the loved one, beyond yourself. Let
Speaker 1: us bring to mind the people in your neighborhood, the
Speaker 1: people on your street, the people who live in the
Speaker 1: houses you drive past every morning. May they be safe,
Speaker 1: May they be healthy, May they be at peace, May
Speaker 1: they live with ease. The people in your city, the
Speaker 1: people in your country, the people in every country. The
Speaker 1: people who are awake right now in the small hours
Speaker 1: of the morning, the people who are falling asleep, the
Speaker 1: people who are working the night shift, the nurses and
Speaker 1: the truck drivers and the bakers and the security guards.
Speaker 1: The people who are lying awake with worry, and the
Speaker 1: people who are lying awake with joy holding a new baby.
Speaker 1: The people who are grieving, and the people who are celebrating,
Speaker 1: the people who are sick, and the people who are healing.
Speaker 1: May they be safe, May they be healthy, May they
Speaker 1: be at peace. May they live with these Breathe in
Speaker 1: and wish them well. Breathe out and wish them well.
Speaker 1: Let the wish expand to fill the room, and then
Speaker 1: the building, and then the street, and then the city,
Speaker 1: and then the country, and then the world. Let the
Speaker 1: wish becomes so wide that it has no edges. May
Speaker 1: all beings everywhere be safe, May all beings everywhere be healthy,
Speaker 1: May all beings everywhere be at peace. May all beings
Speaker 1: everywhere where. With these now, let us widen the circle
Speaker 1: even further, beyond humans, even to the animals. The dogs
Speaker 1: asleep on their owner's feet, the cats watching from win windows,
Speaker 1: the birds nesting in trees, the whales moving through cold,
Speaker 1: dark water, the elephants walking their long paths through dust,
Speaker 1: the horses standing in fields, tails flicking flies, the bees
Speaker 1: gathering pollen in the morning light, the fish darting through
Speaker 1: rivers and seas, all of them wanting what we want.
Speaker 1: To be safe, to be healthy, to be at peace,
Speaker 1: to live with ease. May all beings of every kind
Speaker 1: in every place be safe. May all beings be healthy,
Speaker 1: May all beings be at peace, May all beings live
Speaker 1: with these And let the wish include the trees, the rivers,
Speaker 1: the mountains, the sky, not because they hear us in
Speaker 1: the way humans hear us, but because we are part
Speaker 1: of them, Because wishing for their well being is wishing
Speaker 1: for our own. Because the air we breathe is the
Speaker 1: air the trees exhale. Because the water we drink is
Speaker 1: the water the rivers carry. We are not separate from
Speaker 1: the world. We are the world looking back at itself.
Speaker 1: May all of it be well, May all of it
Speaker 1: be at peace. Breathe in and wish the whole world well.
Speaker 1: Breathe out and wish the whole world well. And let us,
Speaker 1: for a moment rest in this world, widened heart, Let
Speaker 1: us feel what it is to be one small point
Speaker 1: of awareness inside a vast, breathing love and whole. Let
Speaker 1: us feel the love we have offered returning to us,
Speaker 1: like the tide returning to the shore. We offered it,
Speaker 1: and it is still here. It did not leave, it
Speaker 1: cannot leave. The wish is not a transaction. It is
Speaker 1: a spreading, a ripple, a way that goes out and
Speaker 1: comes back and goes out again. May all beings be safe,
Speaker 1: May all beings be healthy, May all beings be at peace,
Speaker 1: May all beings live with these Rest here for a
Speaker 1: few breas, let the wish be enough. Now, gently bring
Speaker 1: your attention back to your own body. Notice the breath
Speaker 1: moving in and out. Notice the weight of your body
Speaker 1: wherever you are, Notice the heart beating in your chest,
Speaker 1: Notice the warmth of the practice still moving through you.
Speaker 1: And offer a small breath of gratitude. Gratitude for yourself
Speaker 1: for showing up for this practice tonight. Gratitude for your
Speaker 1: breath which carried you through it. Gratitude for the people
Speaker 1: in your life who are the reason this practice matters.
Speaker 1: Gratitude for the ancient teachers who passed this practice down
Speaker 1: so that you could find it tonight. Gratitude for the
Speaker 1: simple fact that you are here, alive, breathing in this moment.
Speaker 1: May I be grateful. May I remember this feeling when
Speaker 1: I am caught in my own storms. May I return
Speaker 1: to this kindness again and again when I forget. Breathe
Speaker 1: in and offer gratitude. Breathe out and offer gratitude. Let us,
Speaker 1: for a moment meet your future self. Imagine yourself ten
Speaker 1: years from now, or twenty years from now, or even
Speaker 1: one year from now. The exact number does not matter.
Speaker 1: Just bring to mind an older version of you, who
Speaker 1: has lived through many things, who has loved and lost
Speaker 1: and learned, who has weathered storms and come out the
Speaker 1: other side. And imagine this older you looking back at
Speaker 1: you right now, in this moment. What would they sit
Speaker 1: to you. What would they want you to remember. Perhaps
Speaker 1: they would say, be gentle with yourself tonight. Perhaps they
Speaker 1: would say the things you are worrying about will not
Speaker 1: matter as much as you think. Perhaps they would say,
Speaker 1: I am proud of you for taking this time, for
Speaker 1: sitting down, for practicing kindness. Perhaps they would say, thank
Speaker 1: you for the kindness you offered yourself tonight. Thank you
Speaker 1: for the wishes you gave to the people you love.
Speaker 1: Thank you for the wishes you gave even to the
Speaker 1: people who have hurt you. That kindness mattered, it rippled
Speaker 1: out farther than you can see. Let this older you
Speaker 1: sit with you for a few breaths, Let them place
Speaker 1: a hand on your shoulder if that feels right, and
Speaker 1: offer them the wish in return. May you be safe,
Speaker 1: May you be healthy, May you be at peace. May
Speaker 1: you live with ease. As we move through the end
Speaker 1: of this practice, let me invite you to consider what
Speaker 1: it would mean to take loving kindness of the cushion
Speaker 1: and into your life, not as a task, not as
Speaker 1: a rule, but as a small seed you plant and
Speaker 1: tend in the soil of your ordinary days. One way
Speaker 1: to begin is this tomorrow morning. When you wake up,
Speaker 1: before you reach for your phone, before before you check
Speaker 1: your messages, before you start the rush of the day,
Speaker 1: just take one breath, and on that breath silently offer
Speaker 1: yourself the wish, May I be safe, May I be healthy,
Speaker 1: May I be at peace, May I live with ease.
Speaker 1: And then, as you move through your mourning, choose one
Speaker 1: person to silently wish well. It could be a loved one,
Speaker 1: It could be a stranger at the crosswalk, it could
Speaker 1: be the difficult coworker. Whoever comes to mind, just offer
Speaker 1: them the wish. May you be safe, May you be healthy,
Speaker 1: May you be at peace. May you live with these.
Speaker 1: And then when something goes wrong in your day, when
Speaker 1: you make a mistake, or feel hurt, or feel afraid,
Speaker 1: just pause and offer yourself the wish again, May I
Speaker 1: be safe, May I be healthy, May I be at peace.
Speaker 1: May I live with these? That is the entire practice,
Speaker 1: one breath, one wish, repeated. The seed does not need
Speaker 1: to grow into a tree overnight. It only needs to
Speaker 1: be planted. So let us plant it now in your
Speaker 1: heart and tend it breath by breath, day by day.
Speaker 1: May it grow. And let me also offer a second
Speaker 1: way to bring this practice into your life. Throughout your day,
Speaker 1: you can look for small moments of kindness to offer others,
Speaker 1: not grand gestures, not big sacrifices, just small moments. A
Speaker 1: patient smile at the cashier who looks tired, a jatal
Speaker 1: word to the coworker who is struggling a hell door,
Speaker 1: a real thank you, a moment of listening without trying
Speaker 1: to fix. Each of these is a wish made flesh.
Speaker 1: Each of them is the practice of loving kindness lived
Speaker 1: out loud. And as you offer them, notice how your
Speaker 1: own heart responds, Notice how the warmth spreads, Notice how
Speaker 1: the world feels just slightly a kinder place to be.
Speaker 1: And if in your day you encounter someone who is difficult,
Speaker 1: who is harsh, who is unkind, you can still offer
Speaker 1: the wish. You do not have to offer it to
Speaker 1: their personality. You can offer it to the part of
Speaker 1: them that is suffering. You can offer it to the
Speaker 1: small child inside them, the one who learned to be
Speaker 1: hard because the world was hard. You can offer it
Speaker 1: to the wish that they, too, someday find peace. And
Speaker 1: that wish does not require anything from them. It does
Speaker 1: not require them to change, or to apologize, or to
Speaker 1: be different. It only requires you to be kind in
Speaker 1: your own heart toward them. And that is something you
Speaker 1: can do no matter what they do. So plant the
Speaker 1: seed tonight in your heart and let it grow. Oh,
Speaker 1: let us end this practice with a few simple affirmations.
Speaker 1: You can repeat them silently to yourself or out loud,
Speaker 1: or simply let them sink in. I am worthy of
Speaker 1: my own kindness. I am worthy of my own kindness.
Speaker 1: I deserve to feel safe in my own body and
Speaker 1: in my own mind. I deserve to feel safe. My
Speaker 1: heart is capable of love, even when it has been hurt.
Speaker 1: My heart is capable of love. I can offer kindness
Speaker 1: to myself and to others without running out. I can
Speaker 1: offer kindness without running out. The wish I offer to
Speaker 1: others comes back to me. The wish I offer comes
Speaker 1: back to me. The practice of loving kindness is always
Speaker 1: available to me. The practice is always available. I do
Speaker 1: not have to be perfect to deserve love. I do
Speaker 1: not have to be perfect. I am a person doing
Speaker 1: my best in a difficult world. And that is enough.
Speaker 1: That is enough. May I be safe, May I be healthy,
Speaker 1: May I be at peace? May I live with ease.
Speaker 1: Before we end this practice, let us sit for a
Speaker 1: moment with a quiet inquiry. There is no need to
Speaker 1: find an answer. Just let the question rest in your body,
Speaker 1: like a smooth stone in the pall of your hand.
Speaker 1: The question is this, What would my life be like
Speaker 1: if I treated myself with kindness, if I spoke to
Speaker 1: myself the way I speak to someone I love. If
Speaker 1: I forgave myself the way I forgive others. If I
Speaker 1: let myself rest when I needed to rest, if I
Speaker 1: let myself be imperfect without apology, what would my life
Speaker 1: be like? Let the question sick with you. You do
Speaker 1: not need to answer it. You do not need to
Speaker 1: do anything about it. Just let it be there, breathing
Speaker 1: with you. Let your body answer in its own way.
Speaker 1: Maybe there is a softening, maybe there is a tear,
Speaker 1: Maybe there is a long breath, Maybe there is nothing
Speaker 1: at all. Whatever is there is welcome. You do not
Speaker 1: have to change anything. You only have to notice, and
Speaker 1: in the noticing, something may already be changing. The question
Speaker 1: itself is a wish. The wish itself is a step,
Speaker 1: and each step is enough. So sit with it for
Speaker 1: a few breaths. May I treat myself with kindness. May
Speaker 1: I speak to myself gently. May I forgive myself fully.
Speaker 1: May I rest when I need to rest. May I
Speaker 1: be imperfect and loved. May I be imperfect and loved.
Speaker 1: Breathe in, May I be imperfect and loved. Breathe out.
Speaker 1: May I be imperfect and loved. And now gently we
Speaker 1: begin our return the world outside. This practice has been
Speaker 1: waiting patiently for you, and you are ready to meet
Speaker 1: it again. A little more rested, a little more at peace,
Speaker 1: a little more kind to yourself. Begin to move the
Speaker 1: body if you have been still. Wiggle the fingers and toes,
Speaker 1: roll the shoulders softly. Take one long deep inhale, filling
Speaker 1: the lungs completely, and along slow, exhale, releasing everything. Take
Speaker 1: another inhale completely, exhale completely, and one more inhale and exhil.
Speaker 1: When you are ready, you can open your eyes, and
Speaker 1: as you do, take a moment to notice the world
Speaker 1: around you. Notice the light in the room, Notice the
Speaker 1: sounds outside, Notice the weight of your body where it rests.
Speaker 1: Notice that you are here in this moment, having given
Speaker 1: yourself the gift of this practice. And as you carry
Speaker 1: the rest of your evening and your night and your tomorrow,
Speaker 1: may you carry a small piece of this kindness with you,
Speaker 1: not all of it, just a small piece enough to
Speaker 1: offer to yourself when you need it, enough to offer
Speaker 1: to someone you meet, enough to remember when you forget.
Speaker 1: May you be safe, May you be healthy, May you
Speaker 1: be a piece you live with these, and may you
Speaker 1: be held tonight and always by your own quiet, steady love.
Speaker 1: Thank you for practicing with me tonight. Rest well,