Emily has a deck of medicine cards. They are a powerful way to connect us with the animal world. Draw a card or do a spread to learn more about yourself through our relatives in nature. The other night we each pulled a card and read the associated description. I drew Squirrel.
Squirrel reminds me to prepare for winter, to save up some energy for the months and weeks ahead. Good timing Squirrel. Not just because it is nearing the end of August but also because September, October and November will be exceptionally busy months for me and my colleagues. We have the Union of BC Municipalities convention, First Nations Leadership Gathering and a short and dense Fall Legislative session.
I will certainly get back to the hot social, environmental and economic topics facing British Columbians. I’ll dig deep again into issues like salmon, forestry, water, transportation and community governance in the coming days and weeks. For now, I’m going to save up some of that energy and focus it inward, outward and spread it all around.
Mettā is more than a NBA star!
A couple days back I suggested that you take the space of time that you normally fill with reading this blog to think of something that you are thankful for.
Today, I’m going to make a similar suggestion.
Mettā means benevolence, loving-kindness, good-will. I’ve only briefly been introduced to Mettā through a few guided meditations. (And, I remember when professional basketball player Ron Artest changed his name to Mettā World Peace.)
Rather than a long and winding post today I’m going to invite you to meditate for a few minutes (or even for a single fleeting second) on thoughts or acts of benevolence and loving-kindness for yourself.
Have you been hard on yourself lately? How can you show yourself some goodwill? How about a little benevolence? Or, perhaps things have been going well for you lately. Either way why not spend a few moments breathing some loving-kindness deeply into your spirit.
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I raise my hands to each one of you who shared your thoughts of gratitude on Monday. While today may be a little more personal, feel free to share what you are willing in the comment section below.
Breathe deeply and enjoy!
Image by Roman Grac from Pixabay
Adam, You will need a little extra energy celebrating many Green MPs going to Ottawa this fall….from Vancouver Island.
What comes to me this morning, in those fleeting moments of stillness, are words frequently spoken by an elder of mine. So today I’ll focus on the continued practice of non-judgement; non-judgement of myself and to listen without judgement of other. We are all in this life together.
Many thanks again for this extra moment of reflection.