"It won't happen this time. This year will be different."~the story in your head
Around the holiday season, many of us start to get stressed.
Even if you tell yourself you won't this year, and even if you do everything you can to take care of yourself...Stress starts to creep into your consciousness. Like a gremlin that hides in your grocery back, then before you know what happened, it multiplies.
You're anxious and panicked about all that you have on your to-do list. And while reading this won't do your shopping or wrap your presents, here's a way to get out of your head and back to the present.
When you sit down for a meal, bring your focus back to the table. Bring your focus to your food and the beauty around you at this moment.
"This food is a gift of the earth, the sky, numerous living beings, and much hard and loving work.
May we eat with mindfulness and gratitude so as to be worthy to receive this food.
May we recognize and transform unwholesome mental formations, especially our greed and learn to eat with moderation.
May we keep our compassion alive by eating in such a way that reduces the suffering of living beings, stops contributing to climate change, and heals and preserves our precious planet.
We accept this food so that we may nurture our brotherhood and sisterhood, build our Sangha (community), and nourish our ideal of serving all living beings." *
~Tich Nat Hanh
* Thank you for Mikhayla Anderson for bringing these inspiring words of Tich Nat Hahn to our teacher training.