Meditation From Finding Someone To Insult You

It should be easy to find someone to insult us, on social media, for example, or from among our snarkiest friends. I feel like I want to find someone every day, or let them find me, because they help me to see where I’m holding back, where I’m stuck.

If you're looking for that, too, what happens when someone shows up and we just get defensive? Or we don’t listen in order to learn?

Transcript

Finding whatever is a posture right now that would support you if you're seated or standing or walking, If you're driving, Whatever posture you're in, Bringing as much stillness to the moment as you can. Stillness, Settledness, Just dropping into the present moment, Into the body. How is your body this morning? Sometimes it can just be the body that is the teacher, The spiritual friend, Noticing a pain, A concern, A limitation, A sense of tiredness or hunger or impatience. Then locating the breath and just beginning to practice with following the breath from the beginning of the in-breath all the way to the top of the in-breath, The pause at the top, And then as the breath flows back out, And then at the bottom of the out-breath, Again, The breath coming in and out. And then seeing if there is someone in your life who is your spiritual friend. Could be someone who you have an agreement with to really call one another out or call one another in, We could say, Into the practice, Back to the practice, Who you have an agreement with to try to wake up together. Maybe you're fortunate enough to have that friend or maybe it's your partner or maybe it's a teacher. And seeing if there is some moment that you can be grateful for, For them having pointed something out to you that landed well and that has really stuck with you. Might not have been easy. And if you have that, Just sending some gratitude to this person. Gratitude for being willing to speak frankly with you and maybe being open to hearing back from you. Just gratitude for helping you wake up a little bit. And then maybe there's someone that you can recall in the last day or week or month who activated you, Brought up reactivity. And maybe you caught it and maybe you didn't. It's okay either way. Meaning maybe you caught it before you reacted or maybe you didn't. And is there some gratitude for that person? Or the person you can't manipulate and who knows how to cut through your trips. And if there is, Just send some gratitude to that person. And then last but definitely not least, Some gratitude for yourself, For being interested in this work and for being willing to see those moments. When you're holding back, When you're clenching, When you're feeling reactive. Maybe it's gratitude to yourself and a little bit of gratitude to the practice. And then instead of sending that out, Just take that with you today.