Just One Thing

Remind yourself that you can act in competent, honorable and successful ways even when there is no sense of pressure.

I had a lightbulb moment recently: I was feeling stressed about all the stuff I had to do (you probably know the feeling). After this went on for a while, I stepped back and kind of watched my mind and could see that I was thinking of these various tasks as things.

In its own quiet way, ordinary friendliness takes a stand that is almost subversive these days: that the world has many more opportunities than threats, that most people want the best for others.

Compassion is natural; you don't have to force it; just open to the difficulty, the struggle, the stress, the impact of events, the sorrow and strain in the other person.

I'm tired of the widespread meme -- "in these dark times" -- however it gets expressed. It's ignorant, defeatist, and often used to further an agenda. Every time in human history has been dark in some regards.