Suggestions

 Suggestions:

Look at the sky; to do so draws you up and out of your thoughts.

Look at the ocean; in its flowing tides, its calms and its storms it will give you a sense of perspective.

Look at the trees; they will reach you both rootedness and the ability to let go.

Look up from the ground and meet the world with compassion.

Look at each person you meet as a teacher sent with an important lesson for you.

Live seasonally; enter fully the joy and the beauty of each one as it arises and then do not cling to them as they bid you farewell.

There is nothing you can do about the passing of time except to learn from the past and then live in the present.

Experiences without reflection are just events.

Experiences with reflection become wisdom.

Know the difference between the tears that purify and the tears that do not. 

Never hold back the former. 

Touch, taste, smell, listen deeply to all that is, remember, if it exists it has meaning even if it does not reveal it to you.

Living plants are better than cut flowers but always try and have a little of nature near you.

Listen for the birds, greet the dogs and cats and all creatures you meet along the way as fellow citizens of the one earth as brothers and sisters in being.

Live so as to cause as little harm to other beings as is possible.

Advocate for the weak and the downtrodden,

make space for those who have been silenced by life to speak and then listen.

Plant seeds. 

Grow a garden, and, if possible eat from it, it will teach you your dependence on the earth for bodily sustenance.

Sing, hum, whistle; let music be part of you especially the music that arises unbidden and seems to come from deep within.

Spend time with the very young and the very old, both will help you be yourself again.

Share.

Speak less. Listen more.

Pause before you post anything online. Ask will it bring more compassion to the world?

Learn the names of things: 

not just Tree; but Beech, Oak, Ash. 

Not just Bird; but Robin, Jackdaw, Wren.

Be polite and thankful towards those who have the job of serving you; waiting staff, shop assistants, cleaners etc and remember that everyone you meet has a story at least as complicated as yours.

Bend, stretch, move, dance; do not become confined in or separated from your body,

honour it with respect and kindness. 

Tell it you love it until you do. 

Rest.

Draw, paint, doodle, play with colour and shapes and as you do so watch what emerges. 

Do not characterise it as good or bad.

Compare yourself with no one. 

There is no universal map for a human life, but there is a universal destiny; to become love.

Remember the greatest potential for good or ill exists just as much within you as it does in others

Watch the dawn and the dusk often, both are great teachers in their own way.

Seek truth always. 

Be open to the fact that you could always be wrong.

Apologise.

Be polite.

Smile when you feel you are able to,

but be honest about how you feel.

Teach yourself the value of unstimulated solitude. 

The fear of being alone can lead to poor choices at any age. 

Treasure solitude and treasure connection. The balance you will need between them is unique to you.

Let your eyes rest on books more than screens. 

Read the older stories. 

If they are still with us it is because they have much to teach us. 

Laugh, as much as possible, as often as possible. 

Do not make the mistake of surrounding yourself with sad media when you feel sad. 

If you can’t take being happy at that moment at least choose that which brings equilibrium.

The most difficult mystical teaching of all is this: forgive everyone for everything and remember that Love is an act of will, not an emotional reaction.

Learn to sit still, to breathe consciously and to watch your thoughts and feelings as they come and go. They are not you.

Pray, meditate and do so as much in silence as with words.

Honour your ancestors. 

No matter their story they have something to teach you about how to be, or how not to be.  

Realise the vast majority are doing the best that they can with the knowledge that they have in that moment.

Be.

Finally; 

before all else and above all else; 

act justly,

love tenderly

and walk humbly with your God.