Peace to you!

Each week, the Monk Mindset newsletter comes with:

Monk Mindset for Living Well

Love Is Your Purpose: Choose Love, Especially when You Don’t Feel Like It

Reflection on the Monk Mindset and Quote

When I was in the monastery, I was occasionally assigned to hospitals and nursing homes, to visit extremely sick patients. Although this was my duty, I honestly almost never looked forward to going to the hospital or nursing home. Moreover, the patients themselves were typically in pain, felt isolated, alone, and fearful. However, I came to realize that rather than being fixed or permanent, how we feel in a given moment could be dramatically and quickly transformed.

Before entering a patient’s room, I prayed for that person and would invite Light to come into the conversation and the time together. I asked for the grace to put love into the situation, even though I didn’t feel it. 

One elderly woman I’d regularly visit in the nursing home was bedridden, in pain, and alone. She almost always seemed sad when I walked in. All I did was listen, ask about her, and pray with her. So simple. By the end of each visit, she would be in tears, thanking me. In these short visits, I had mysteriously become a channel for love, despite it not being present when I arrived. 

Lack of love is not a static reality. Instead, love can blossom immediately and powerfully when summoned. 

After returning to the monastery from these hospital and nursing home visits, I always felt refreshed, more like myself, and more joyful. I too had been transformed by these encounters.

Even though I rarely looked forward to going and often carried various anxieties with me, I was able to “draw out love” by “putting in love.”

Put It Into Practice This Week

Close your eyes. Think of one situation or relationship in your life that feels heavy and not loving. 

Now, imagine the next time you enter this situation or see this person, what’s one small action you could do to “put love”?

Commit to this action and let me know how it goes 🙂

Wishing you abundant peace this week,

John

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