“METTA”…. IS MAKING IT ALL “BETTA”…
IT COMES DOWN TO THIS…
WORDS…
I broke my arm.. it hurt… it healed..
I was nice to my arm .. I kept it tucked close to my chest ..
I did not beat up on it verbally for the “trauma” it caused me ..
I knew it needed rest and delicate care to heal..
I gave that .. it healed …
End of story….
Now.. when “JEWDA”.. ( my Buddhist/ Jewish therapist, who does enthusiastically discuss his mother’s chicken soup as a plan “B”.. when all else is heading “south “…) introduced METTA meditation .. it came down to this..
“WHAT REALLY .. DO YOU “NEED”…?”
I stared at him… and before I could go all GRETA GARBO…”I VANT TO BE ALONE..”.
He filled in my “blanks”…
- HEALTHY
- 2. HAPPY
- 3. SAFE
- 4. FREE
FREE FROM “SUFFERING”… ( Buddhists use that word MUCH… “Suffering”..)
I suffer.. when I DECIDE how things WILL BE… and ATTACH TO THAT..
CONTROL ISSUES CAUSE SUFFERING….
PERIOD.. AMEN .. THANK YOU BUDDHA..
SUFFERING CAUSES ANXIETY ….
ANXIETY IS WHY I SOUGHT OUT THE GREAT AND POWERFUL. “OZ”…
“Welcome to METTA..”, he said … as he took my lipstick stained Starbucks cup out of my hand … “ and cut back on the CAFFEINE.”
Simple words ..went repeated .. sink into the mind ..
“HEALTHY, HAPPY, SAFE.. FREE”
These are UNIVERSAL LONGINGS.. THESE ARE SHARED HUMAN EXPERIENCE..
Closing the eye sockets … taking a few inhales and deep exhales ..
( get that stale air out .. )
4 WORDS… PRESENTED IN REPETITION TO THE MIND..
CHANGES IT ALL..
TRY IT..
( I am not a “hocus pocus” kind of woman .. it’s not magic … it’s not denial of the reality we live in .. ITS PROGRAMMING OUR MINDS TO HEAR AND SEE…
prompting a gush of humanity .. and self compassion ..)
SELF COMPASSION.. changes behavior ..
I want healthy.. i will now think twice before refilling the coffee cup.. 4 times..
Eating just a large cookie for dinner.. because I’m really not hungry …
You know… the “unhealthy” things we do because “no one is watching”
I AM WATCHING .. ME
YOU ARE WATCHING… YOU..
“HAPPY”… becomes the small things…
( like last night .. the sun over the Hudson River was the brightest shade of Orange against a sky of clear blue .. reminded me SPRING IS COMIMG..
My mind spun back to the warm sand of KISMET.. I felt it… it made me HAPPY..)
“SAFE”… well.. we are dealing with lots of uncertainty .. LIFE IS UNCERTAIN..
ALWAYS WAS.. ALWAYS WILL BE…
LIFE IS ALSO FLUID ..
We are “SAFE”… as long as we remember that…
“FREE” from SUFFERING…
Look.. we all have built up far more EMOTIONAL RESILIENCE than we give ourselves credit for …
REVISIT THE WHOLE STORY..
ITS YOURS.. “THE GOOD, THE BAD.. THE UGLY.. THE BEAUTIFUL”..
LOOK AT WHAT YOU HAVE SURVIVED, BEEN THROUGH, EXPERIENCED..
ALL THAT.. CAN BE CALLED ON… NOW..
“Stop being a victim of your life.. because you are the HERO”..
METTA WORDS…
YEP.. and maybe … I will also try the “chicken soup”…