Widening Our Circles of Caring

As we approach Valentine's Day on Saturday 14th, I wanted to offer a practice that reminds us of the power and importance of spreading loving kindness beyond those we know well, or who we deem worthy of it. 

In this day and age it feels more important than ever that we remember to widen our circles of caring, to see the commonality between ourselves and those who on the surface may appear 'different'. To remember how connected we are and how different the world can be and feel when we care for each other. 

So I am sharing with you in the link below a loving kindness meditation which invites us to bring loving kindness: 

• towards ourselves

• towards someone we care for 

• towards a neutral person that we don't know 

In this practice we offer the phrases: 

"May I be safe"
"May I be well"
"May I live with ease and kindness"

But you could always find others if other words resonate with you more. 

I find this such a powerful practice in reminding us that everyone has layers of complexity that we don't see on the surface; we all have our hopes and dreams, our triggers and difficulties. It can remind us that the person we pass on the street, the person needing help with the bags on the stairs, or the bus driver who takes us to work, is a person too. In doing so we remember to open our hearts to them. Even small and seemingly insignificant kind gestures, when undertaken with genuine care can have a significant impact. 

I'm certainly often surprised at the level of delight I get from bus drivers with a simple smile and 'thank you' at the end of a trip. We all deserve and desire to be seen in our fullness. In worlds increasingly dominated with technology let's celebrate and acknowledge our humanness.