“Anger is a bell of mindfulness.” —Brother Phap Huu

“It’s okay not to have an answer to the question you’re asking yourself. But as long as you’re alive, you keep asking questions.” (That’s from The Departure.)

Thank you for acceptance that injustice exists. Thank you for trust in slow-mo, wordless unfurlings of justice. Thank you for compassion restoring balance.

Thank you for our bit parts on the stage of the universe.

Thank you for the smell of winter in the Sandia foothills.

Thank you for Take Five warming a windless sunset stroll past adobes decked with ristras, windows framed in twinkling lights, and luminarias lining paths.

Thank you for another post from the Gottman blog.

Thank you for maya dissipating. First came a regrettable episode. Then my self-narrative see-sawed from a victim account to one of aggressor. Was I manipulated? Did I manipulate? Incompatible alternatives carried me up and down as if the possible origins of my suffering were split and couldn’t coexist—like the tilt of a rigid plank on a playground. How could one end rise unless the other fell?

No, suffering’s causes are myriad. “Contradictions” do coexist. It’s in not looking deeply enough that I oversimplify; to reach reality takes digging beneath illusion. When I find it, contradictions reconcile in understanding fertile with peace. 

Thank you for the growth equation: stress + rest = growth. (Brad Stulberg?)

Thank you for eating differently.

Thank you for energy that bubbles and bounces from inside.

Thank you for the heavy hitters falling to the bottom of the salad bowl for a strong finish.

Thank you for when Brussels sprouts are cabbage heads and I’m a giant.

Thank you for healthy bodies.

Thank you for holiday miracles.

Thank you for realization when another tries to plant in my self-image the projection of her own sense of inadequacy. There is only adequacy in us. We are sacred and beautiful.

Thank you for strangers and loved ones who show us what it’s like to be treated with dignity.

Thank you for strangers and loved ones who show us what it’s like to be given grace.

Thank you for optimism spurring fresh efforts at the start of a new year.

To do the big things that scare you, start with smaller things—start with developing the ability to push yourself to do stuff you’re reluctant to do. To be able to endure the cold reception of a bold idea, start with enduring a cold shower. To be able to step forward when the stakes are high, regularly do that when the stakes are low. To be able to embrace the discomfort of a major life change, accustom yourself to minor discomforts. We treat the body rigorously, Seneca said, so that it may not be disobedient to the mind. We push ourselves in little ways so the big ways stop seeming quite so big, quite so out of character. We minimize fear by making the act of overcoming it routine. We test ourselves to prepare for the tests of life. By methodically and deliberately exposing ourselves to small challenges, what once seemed daunting becomes manageable, even routine. —Ryan Holiday

Take good care and be well <3