“If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive; and then aspire to learn that other truth—that the least of what you receive can be divided. To help and share—that is the sum of all knowledge, that is the meaning of art.” — Eleanora Dusé

I think it’s important to fall in love with the world as it is before you set out to make a difference in it.

Especially this time of year, when it's cold outside and it gets darker earlier, and especially after the kind of year we just had, it can be as hard as ever to remember how connected you are to everything around you.

It all depends on how you look at it. (The whole world depends on that.)

If you look at the world and see only problems, it's a hard life.

If you train yourself to see the beauty most people miss, you see a field of possibilities and the value in each season. Each moment is different from the last. Nature becomes a springboard to the sacred. There's a whole lot to be grateful for.

When I think of being connected to everything else, this line from Arjun Das comes to mind:

“Plants are doing meditation all the time. They simply surrender themselves and accept the sunlight and the raindrops. They contemplate the rainbow. They feel joy with the wind and the feelings from the earth.”

With seasonal depression (and a pandemic) being a very real thing, now is a good time to honor your place in the cosmos.

One of the best ways to do that is through the language you use every day.

The mantras I'm sharing here can be part of your meditations, but more powerful than that — they can be part of your everyday life.

They can help you think in new ways.

They can bring you back to your own heartbeat on a stressful day.

It's a practice of connecting with the world around you and within.

Find your own words and ways to honor yourself — recognizing your value and what you have to offer the world — and you honor *everything.*

Repeating these mantras is a beautiful way to honor what you've been given, and how much you have in common with everything around you.

Maybe, this will all remind you just how much you have left to give.

Mantras to Honor Mother Earth and Your Own Self

I have everything I need.

I have everything I need.

I have everything I need.

From the mountains to the sea,

All of this is within me,

I have everything I need.

— Trevor Hall, “Everything I Need”

The mountains, I become a part of it…

The herbs, the fir tree, I become a part of it.

The morning mists, the clouds, the gathering waters,

I become a part of it.

The wilderness, the dew drops, the pollen…

I become a part of it.

— Navajo Chant

Earth beneath me.

Sky above me.

Water within me.

Air around me.

I am okay.

— "I am okay" art print

I have been to the end of the Earth.

I have been to the end of the waters.

I have been to the end of the sky.

I have been to the end of the mountains.

I have found none that are not my friends.

— Navajo Proverb

. . .

Tell me:

If you could choose one sentence or any combination of words as your mantra this year, what would it be?

(You can make up your own or pick from anything I shared here.)

Mine would be: "I have everything I need."

Write your mantra in the comments below. I'd love to repeat it with you.

With you,

Jen

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