So a funny thing happened yesterday while I was on the airplane heading home from Montana.
I was all serene. I had passed on $600 in flight vouchers to stay in Salt Lake City overnight, as they'd overbooked the flight, but I decided I'd rather get home, see my sweetheart and kittens and get back into my routine. I would have had to switch my schedule, rebook clients - I decided to trust that I will always have what I need to fly where I want. I was ready to dig into the addictive novel I was reading (Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty - I liked it!)
And I looked at the person next to me and she was texting (in very large print - I didn't mean to snoop) about how horrible that she was in the back of the plane and it would probably be an extra 15 minutes for her to get off. Complain-texting.
I thought, "Huh." Never occurred to me to complain about that. And in that moment, I realized I'd been on a four day reunion with over 20 people of all ages - second generation included - couples, kids, tons of people and logistics for rides, showers, meals - and not once had it occurred to me to complain. I had been so happy to see these folks, some who I hadn't seen in five years, some I hadn't seen in ten, so grateful for all of the wonderful meals prepared and shared, so grateful for the hikes to hot springs, the views of mountains, the tame deer in the neighborhood, and mostly the wonderful connections with these incredible individuals who I spent a college semester with in Kenya 26 years ago. I don't think anyone else complained either! (Well maybe the teen/tween kids got a little antsy here and there...)
I'm not always super-serene. But when I am, it feels amazing. And I think 20 days of leading compassion meditations this past month has certainly helped. If you somehow missed this and would like to have access to the folder with 20 beautiful compassion talks/meditations - each one about 15-20 minutes long, all you need to do is reply to this email and I'll send you the link. If you were in the group I posted the folder link to our group - so you can grab it there - or email me and I'll send you the link too!
I've had multiple messages from and conversations with participants who said the talks and meditations made a significant difference for them. I would love for them to make a difference for you too. We all need more compassion, more peace. Just email me if you want the link to the folder. It's a gift from me (with an option to invest a little $$ if you're more likely to use something you actually buy. Only if you want.)
Not so sure about meditation? You don't have to be a meditation expert. I do a lot of walking you through breathing exercises or visualizing techniques so you don't have to just sit quietly for too long.
And mountains. I saw them, hiked in them a little, flew over them. Dusted with first snow. Hiding hot springs. Covered in golden aspens. Magical. I couldn't smell so well - I had a little bit of a cold. (I forgot to complain about that too!) But every once in a while a whiff of ponderosa or mossy leafy goodness would sneak into my stuffy nostrils and overwhelm me with happy gratitude. Yum!