Get. Very. Simple.

 A few years ago, I  had the immense pleasure of attending a lecture by Huston Smith, the preeminent scholar of the world’s religions.  Smith first came to the attention of the world when he brought a young Tibetan Buddhist Monk – His Holiness, the Dalai Lama –to America for the first  time. Smith spoke about the continuing impact of religion on our world, most notably the strife in the Middle East over religious differences. He was at his most joyous when he spoke about his own spiritual practices, which he described to us. Smith said, upon rising each day, he did Hatha yoga for some minutes, followed by reading a few pages of a sacred text, after which he meditated or prayed for at least five minutes. He would finish his morning ritual by doing a bit of yard work and some composting. As gardening and composting enthusiast, I was engrossed. Smith extolled the virtues of this service to the planet, which results in rich, dark soil, and a beautiful garden he greatly enjoys.

The entire audience smiled as they listened to this great and humble man describe the spiritual practices with which he began each day. These were Huston Smith’s personal morning rituals and I felt more at peace just listening to him describe his simple steps to serenity. I love the irony that this premiere academic, who has such as deep understanding of all the religions rituals throughout history, had created such an uncomplicated approach for himself. I left the talk inspired to worry less and enjoy more. I saw the deep wisdom of simplicity. Huston Smith rarely appears in public but I never miss a chance to listen to him speak on any subject. I recently saw him again at San Francisco’s esteemed CIIS and heard the one detail he had left out of the previous discussion of morning practices, which I recognized as a  brilliant happiness habit.  He was introduced that night by a dear old friend, who added this delightful detail he knew from their time as college roommates: Upon waking, Huston sits up ramrod straight in his bed, claps his hands together and says very loudly, ”It’s going to be a GREAT DAY.”

What simple activities can you perform to add joy to your life?

Are there any “downer duties” you can delete from your life?

Do you feel a longing for simpler times in your life?

What can you do about it?

Is there a morning “life affirmation” you can speak upon waking?

Wishing you sweet serenity,

Brenda