Just breathing – something we do 43,242 times a day but never think about it and accept it as our due. But in it lies the meaning of life as well as death. If we watch it by sitting quietly and observing its in and out passage we become calmer and after a while the breath will slow to a whisper. With this comes awareness and peace and a new  appreciation of our life and its value.Try it.

  It has been said “Listening is an act of love”.This simple act of listening, we do every day without giving it a second’s thought, has within it a remarkable potion, the ability to comfort, heal and rejuvenate the speaker.I am not talking about ‘ listening ‘ as we normally practice it- this kind often involves tapping our mental fingers waiting till the speaker is finished so that we can put in our 2 cents  and illuminate the speaker with our wisdom, humor or cleverness. I am referring to the true act of listening where we do not judge, condemn or find fault. A wise friend once told me her definition of love was to give without expecting anything back. True listening is like this. For a few brief seconds or minutes we listen with our heart. The effects can be amazing.Once,years ago, I sat in a seminar of 12 people conducted by Carl Rogers, the eminent psychologist. To break the ice and get us to know one another he went around the circle asking each person in turn who they were, why they were there, and what they wanted to take away from the seminar. As he listened to each person I was struck by the complete and undivided attention he gave that person -pure love- and as he went around the group people were crying and were  opening and deeply touched by this kind and wise man – and the seminar hadn’t even begun. It was and has been a wonderful example to me of what is possible in even the simplest of acts. 

We often forget that humility is a great and powerful weapon.It can disarm and render weak even the most     formidable opponent. It has a special power that is invulnerable. Think about Ghandhi and Nelson Mandela and the wonders and transformation brought forth by their humilty.

We see the world the way we see ourselves. If we are down or depressed it is because we are focusing on negative emotions and qualities inside – these literally spawn a host of thoughts that take form in our minds and torture us. If we use our wisdom and change our focus to the positive and the gracious qualities- such as patience,tolerance,forgiveness, compassion and under standing -and begin to practice them – the change begins. If we persist we gradually become those qualities and this brings us directly to a place of peace.