I've been a big fan of Maitri (loving kindness) Practice, since my dear teacher Lisa Steele introduced me to it years ago. It's been a consistent part of my daily practice, at least it was until about two weeks after my son was born and my world turned completely upside down. I let it go. And then the hours of lost sleep started to add up. And my support systems fell apart. And we had the rainiest winter in Seattle in a century. And I found out I have to move my family, again. The world started looking pretty ugly.

Then my best friend brought Pema Chodren back into my life. While I holed up with a new baby, she discovered secular buddhism and maitri and all the practices I love. She did the kindest thing for me that I've experienced since she left a daffodil on my doorstep on a dark day 7 years ago. She reminded me about mindfulness, gently, over and over throughout the long winter. She sent me passages from Pema's When Things Fall Apart. She reminded me to breathe. I'm deeply grateful.

It's a transformative experience to sjmply pause instead of immediately filling up the space. By waiting, we begin to connect with fundamental restlessness as well as fundamental spaciousness. -Pema Chodren