making your home work
There is a famous stone water basin (or “tsukubai”) outside of the even more famous Ryoan-ji Temple in Kyoto, with four characters that read: “ware tada shiru taru.” This is a Zen saying that can be translated in a number of ways, all to do with contentment. But my favorite translation is:
Yesterday wasn’t a great day for me. I woke up late after too little sleep. Someone I love is mad at me, and doesn’t seem to want to talk to me, which put me in a down mood. I couldn’t get focused to do any writing, so I answered emails, read stuff online, took a nap. My kids weren’t around to cuddle with me. I did a …
Stress is a killer. It contributes to health problems, unhappiness, depression, relationship problems, and more. We’re always going to have some stress in our lives, but how can we manage it? By finding the cause, and working with that cause. In my mindfulness experiments, I’ve found that the root cause of stress is …
Forming new habits can be life-changing — if you start meditating, create a simple exercise habit, and eat more vegetables, you health and happiness can be transformed in a matter of months. But sticking to a habit can be difficult, because life gets in the way. And we get discouraged when the habit gets disrupted. …
There are so many benefits to exercise, from cancer prevention to brain health, from heart health to better weight management, from stronger bones to less stress and more happiness … so why is it so hard for most people to stick to a regular exercise habit? It turns out that there’s really only one reason. You might …
I’m a big fan of exercise challenges. I’ve used challenges to change my health and fitness habits, including: There have been many, actually, and they always get me motivated to get off my butt and get going. Sometimes that’s the push you need to get over the initial resistance. So I’m issuing a challenge to all of …
We are, all of us, amazing at avoiding things. Our minds are less “thinking machines” than they are “avoiding machines.” And the incredible thing is that we aren’t even usually aware that we’re avoiding thinking about something. I’ll give you a few examples: In fact, there are thousands more examples, every day, that …
I was in a plane descending into Portland for a quick stopover, and I gazed upon a brilliant pink sunrise over blue and purple mountains, and my heart ached. Instinctively, I looked over to Eva to share this breath-taking moment, but she was sleeping. I felt incomplete, not being able to share the moment with her, or …