Words have the power to destroy . . . (Click image for video)

Habits are like an old, familiar path.  

Having a habit, to me, is like striding along a familiar path, perhaps on the way to the market or in the park. Having taken a path many times, we feel confident when on it again. Paying no heed to what’s happening, we just keep moving, our mind on other things.

Acting from habits is very similar. Having done something repeatedly, we proceed without thinking, convinced that what we’re doing is just fine. Hopefully, the day will come when we look around and realize that we have been making mistakes. Indeed, this approach hasn’t really worked all that well for us. And so we attempt to make corrections.

But doing things differently is not easy.

And so we flounder, blundering first in one direction and then in another in our attempts to act more mindfully. As long as we remain patient with the process and we persevere, we will form new—and better—habits. We’ll reach the point where our actions once more are confident.

And correct.

Nurture the heart of respect for all beings . . . (Click image for video)

Do we really need all this baggage? 

“Goodness, these bags are heavy!

And there’s so many of them, how will we ever keep track of them all? Plus, just look at them, they’re all mismatched. Some look ancient and tattered, really old and dusty.” Looking inside one, we see old images of unknown people, faded documents with unpronounceable names, strange-looking clothes, books in languages we can’t read, and more.

Then we look in another. Then another. What a jumble of stuff.

After a few more bags, we realize that the contents are totally unimportant things. We don’t need them. They are useless and can be discarded. And with that, we close our bags and walk away, leaving them behind to vanish. Unencumbered, we feel lighter than we can ever recall feeling. As we were told, when our mind opens up, we will realize there is no longer a need for all the baggage we have accumulated over uncountable lifetimes. We can discard it all.

And having done so, we will naturally let go and feel joy physically and mentally.