THESE SIMPLE WORDS

By the power and the truth of this practice,
may all beings have happiness,
and the causes of happiness.
May all be free from sorrow,
and the causes of sorrow.
May all never be separated from
sacred happiness which is sorrowless.
And may all live in equanimity,
without too much attachment
and too much aversion,
And live believing in the
equality of all that lives.
May all beings be filled with joy and peace.
May all beings everywhere,
The strong and the weak,
The great and the small,
The mean and the powerful,
The short and the long,
the subtle and the gross:
May all beings everywhere,
Seen and unseen,
Dwelling far off or nearby,
Being or waiting to become:
May all be filled with lasting joy.
Let no one deceive another,
Let no one anywhere despise another,
Let no one out of anger or resentment.
Wish suffering on anyone at all.
Just as a mother with her own life
Protects her child, her only child, from harm,
So within yourself let grow
A boundless love for all creatures.
Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth.

(Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying)

Today I wrote a letter.

Perhaps not sounding quite like the Herculean task that it was for me. Nonetheless, I am pleased.

I have released so much of what I was resisting and struggling to hold onto out into the world and onto the page and that is serving me.

These simple words have set me free.

I am present. I recognize that the next moment will bring change. Tomorrow I will face challenges and fears and setbacks. And yet, in this moment I am embracing this success! I am celebrating who I am becoming. I accept that this becoming is coming and will continue to come. I am changed.

Most importantly I have realized this: We each have a lifetime to fill with feelings, thoughts, mistakes, choices. These are all valid within the context of our own individual lives. I am allowed to make my own choices within the context of my own day, my own life. My choice is no less or no more right than yours.

I choose love!

What do you choose? Will you share?