One Minute Mindfulness: What To Do When Life Gets Hard

In this talk, Geoff Bell-Devaney discusses ways that we can be with whatever difficult situations or emotions we might be experiencing in ways that are more compassionate and accepting. In doing this, we can begin integrating them and experiencing greater power and peace as a result.

Transcript

Don't abandon yourself when times get hard. From a spiritual perspective, Those are the richest times. My name's Jeff. I've been practicing mindfulness for more than 25 years, And I've definitely learned over the course of those years that it's the hard times, The pain, The emotions that are hard to be with, The situations that bring us discomfort. That offers a tremendous opportunity to grow spiritually. And the first thing to do when you're experiencing that is to take a breath and relax. The situation is probably not going to change right away. The emotion is probably not going to shift right away. So do your best to just settle into it. And something that can really help us do that, To settle into the emotion or a situation, Is to accept it, To turn towards it with courage, And acknowledge that that's reality. And it's how we meet reality that can help us either stay stuck or grow on the spiritual path. To grow, Rather than covering up our emotions by running to the fridge or the cookie jar or the bottle of wine, We acknowledge them and we meet them with courage, With compassion. We welcome them in. And the more that we're able to do that, To welcome in our emotions, The more we're able to acknowledge the reality of every situation in life and welcome it in too. And the more that we acknowledge reality within us and without, Then we can start meeting it from creative, Empowered ways. Then we can start to really use life as a way to grow in insight and awareness, In wisdom and inner peace.