Two activities: one at the beginning, one at the end.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons

          When the sun sits low on the horizon, sunlight has to travel through more of the Earth’s atmosphere. Along the way, rays of light encounter small particles and gas molecules that change their direction. The shorter wavelengths of blue and violet are scattered in a new direction more often than the longer wavelengths of orange and red. This is the reason sunrises and sunsets are generally red, orange and yellow; clouds act as projection screens for the colors. The skyline’s changing colors at dawn and dusk are a good reminder to practice this slogan. It encourages us to start our morning with intention and end our day with reflection. We begin the day with a cheerful attitude with an aim to keep our heart and mind open no matter what comes. In the evening, we look back on how well we carried out our intention. We don’t use what we find as a reason to gloat or feel guilty, but as information to better guide our thoughts and actions the next day. Such a simple commitment allows us to rededicate ourselves to the cause of compassion on a daily basis.

You can look at each day as a practice period, with a beginning and an end. So every morning you take a fresh start, and every evening you have a chance to appraise how you have done. 

~ Judy Lief

For more information on the forty-first slogan, go here.

Slogan Forty-one

Two activities: one at the beginning, one at the end.

From the Lojong for the Layperson booklet:
            Before our feet even hit the floor in the morning, our mind is busy with our plans of the day. By evening, after a day full of activities, all we want to do is crawl back into our bed and get a good night sleep. But this slogan suggests we use two bookends to support our day – a reminder of our practice in the morning and a review of it in the evening. We begin with the intention that we will think, speak and act mindfully and with an open heart; we dedicate what we will do in the hours ahead to the benefit of others. This activity helps us start our day in a calm, positive frame of mind. At night, we look objectively at the places we stayed firm and the places we slipped in our dedication. We don’t use the assessment to beat ourselves up or brag, but to help us make progress – each day is only a small part of a training period. Our review allows us to unload the stress of the day and view our actions with clarity. Both activities can lift our spirits and encourage us in sustaining our practice.

Photo: Two pine cones with a pile of shredded cone debris (created by squirrels eating the seeds out of green cones).

            I've got a stack of books to read on my bedside table. Some are purely for pleasure reading, one is for the book club, a few are for learning about interests of mine, and several are for spiritual contemplation and growth. When I bought them, my intention was to read every page of each one. Of course the easy-to-read novels I've almost finished; a few books with a more difficult or technical subject, I'm barely past the introduction. Yet reading and understanding just a few pages a day is progress, no matter how slow. None of them are library books, so I don't need to finish them within a certain time-frame. Likewise, as I begin my day with the aspiration to let the lojong slogans guide my thoughts and actions, I don't need to berate myself for less than perfect results. There is a phrase used in twelve-step groups that encourages "progress not perfection." My mistakes can be used to help me see more clearly how to change and what to do differently. They are only the few pages left to turn, until I reach the next chapter.