No Mud, No Lotus

With COVID upending our lives for the last couple years, I've returned to studying Buddhism and started practicing in earnest again. I've been chewing through a lot of books and No Mud, No Lotus by Thich Nhat Hanh really struck a real chord with me.

Without suffering, there is no happiness.

After reading the book a couple times and really absorbing it, I realized I was making it all worse. A lot of crappy things have happened to myself and my family since March 2020, but I needed to stop living in the past-- worrying about things I couldn't change. I started paying attention to my body and my breath. Realized when I was winding myself up and I started mindfulness meditation.

Breathing in, I know suffering is there.

Breathing out, I say hello to my suffering

By mindfully breathing, I've been able to stop the suffering from overwhelming me. Well, sometimes. But I'm getting better! I've also added a mindfulness bell onto my phone. It rings randomly, reminding me to bring my attention back to my breath. It works great when I'm working at home, but we'll have to see how it works when I'm back in the office and there are people around a lot more.