peace

I remember hearing the song “Don’t Worry, Be Happy” by Bobby McFerrin and feeling instantly elated. The lyrics and melody were simple but made a lot of sense to me.

If you could attend a workshop with Gandhi, the Dalai Lama or Martin Luther King, Jr., you’d sign up just as fast as you could, wouldn’t you? I felt just as excited when I heard that Thich Nhat Hanh — a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, master meditation teacher and renowned advocate for peace — was offering a day of mindfulness near my home. The day-long program was put on by the Omega Institute at the Beacon Theatre in New York City, meaning all this Brooklynite mom had to do was arrange for childcare and get on the subway. Done.

Wow, so much is going on in our world today. Is it hope or fear that we are clinging to? It seems both are so strong at the present time. What we can be sure of is that things are changing at lightening speed, and we need to learn to roll and be flexible because just when you think all of your ducks are in a row, another wave comes along. It would be a pretty boring ride if we knew where all the bumps in the road were. What makes a roller coaster so exciting? It is the not knowing.

Inhale, pause… Exhale, pause… The pendulum of the breath swings effortlessly back and forth, in and out.

On the first real cold day of the year, we may catch ourselves fascinated with the phenomena of the breath. And in your child’s first year, you may be constantly listening to his or her sleeping breath.