My birthday is in 2 days.

And I’ve already started receiving the most touching of gifts :)

One in particular, from my in-laws (hi Mar!), made me think of you all immediately.

The Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World captures the conversations that His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu had over a week-long visit together in April 2015, to celebrate the Dalai Lama’s 80th birthday. (I mean, come on! What a premise for a book!)

The book begins with an “Invitation to Joy” that felt especially resonant with today’s meditation (and I know Day 33 is many of our alum’s favorite days!).

Here’s their invitation —

“There is perhaps nothing more joyous than birth, and yet so much of life is spent in sadness, stress, and suffering. We hope this small book will be an invitation to more joy and more happiness.

No dark fate determines the future. We do. Each day and each moment, we are able to create and re-create our ives and the very quality of human life on our planet. This is the power we wield.

Lasting happiness cannot be found in pursuit of any goal or achievement. It does not reside in fortune or fame. It resides only in the human mind and heart, and it is here that we hope you will find it.

… You don’t need to believe us. Indeed, nothing we say should be taken as an article of faith. We are sharing what two friends, from very different worlds, have witnessed and learned in our long lives. We hope you will discover whether what is included here is true by applying it to your own life.

Every day is a new opportunity to begin again. Every day is your birthday.”

As always, meditation reminds us that if we’re paying attention synchronicities abound.

So here is my invitation —

Day 33 is Loving-Kindness Day. This meditation is one that crosses time and place but this version came to me directly from the mindfulness meditation community distilled from Buddhism.

A deep reminder that we are steeped in something much bigger than we 40 people across these 40 days.

And of course one of the most beautiful meditations I know (and that you probably already know and practice some organic version of without even realizing it).

The magic of simply BEING here together.

May you be healthy, may you be happy, may you be safe, may you be know love,
Cath

p.s. As we round out our official time together, I invite you to take a few minutes to please share your final thoughts in our out-going questionnaire. Your input and experience are invaluable teaching tools to me. Thank you so much in advance.

LEAVE A COMMENT: If you practice this today, simply share: how did it feel?

DAY 33’s Early Morning : The Loving-Kindness Meditation (20 Min)

DAY 33 Quiet Evening Practice (13 min)