Loving Kindness

We are all filled with good qualities of peace, love, joy, compassion, and kindness. When uncomfortable situations arise, we need to remind ourselves of these beautiful inner qualities that we all possess and can share with everyone around us and in every situation we are in. We can mindfully bring those inner qualities out into our world and spread a lot of loving kindness around. When you find yourself getting angry at someone or feeling frustrated in a particular experience, take a deep breath in. Just breathe for a moment or two. Be mindfully aware of how you're feeling and know that you have the ever-present choice to respond to that person or situation with loving kindness. Take a moment or two to breathe in and smell the coffee.

In my Zen coffee philosophy, stirring just a smidge of loving kindness into the coffee cup of all your experiences produces a perfect blend of calm coffee flavored with compassion. Breathe in the peaceful qualities that are within you and feel kindness toward the person who has made you angry or the situation that brought you stress. Breathe out that loving kindness that is within you.