HOME AGAIN


feeling out of place

someone looks at me and smiles

i am home again


sitting inside a Hindu temple entryway, waiting for my son's chess tournament to start, nearly everyone looked Hindu (brown faces, women in saris and men in dhoti's) coming in for a service (the tournament was in an adjoining social hall)...i felt "out of place" until one middle-aged Hindu woman smiled directly at me...i instantly felt seen, welcomed, and "at home" 


practice: make the effort to intentionally smile while looking directly at people you see in the course of your everyday life if the circumstances feel appropriate...people in your household/family/roommates, co-workers, fellow students (and teachers), strangers on the street, acquaintances, friends, relations...let go of hoping for a positive response...if the smile is returned, good, if not, also good, as they probably needed it! let us connect with one another by smiling more often, helping the other feel seen, welcomed, and at home...an additional practice is to wish them well (mentally or verbally if the circumstances seem appropriate) while you smile (e.g., may you be...healthy, happy, free from unnecessary suffering, at peace...)




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