dearest readers:

bonjour from warm and misty washington, dc. feels more like spring than winter, but i’ll take it.

i hope you enjoyed bonjour, happiness and the interview with author jamie cat callan on finding your inner ooh la la. 

later we’re taking our “sons” to washington humane society for santa pics so for now i’m enjoying a leisurely read in bed with real happiness at work: meditations for accomplishment, achievement, and peace. indeed, it is this season’s must-read.

at last weekend’s workshop with sharon salzberg and sylvia boorstein {takeaways penned via mindful monday} we had the opportunity to purchase this not-yet-released book and i’ve been devouring it like a fine wine ever since.

as we work our way through the hustle and bustle of the hollydaze and resolutions for the new year, it feels like the perfect time to do some deep reflections within and this book offers up many how-tos, meditations, and more.

here are a few gems:

* “before beginning a new project or meeting or conversation, ask yourself, “what do i most want to see happen from this?” p. 10
* “it often helps to pay attention to the feeling of irritation-not so much the story of why you’re irritated, but the actual feeling of it. what does irritation feel like in your body? where do you sense it? how does it feel as a mood? this doesn’t mean you will never take constructive action or set clearer boundaries or whatever is involved in the irritation, but it helps tremendously to be able to identify irritation as it’s starting, rather than after you’ve taken regrettable action. with a more immediate recognition of what we’re feeling, we have a choice as to how we want to respond in that moment.” p. 42
* “attending to a trivial email or being distracted by minutiae can give us an instant hit of gratification or accomplishment, what psychologists call a “quick win,” while keeping us from real work.” p. 57
* “the focus that is developed through following our breath (in meditation) is the focus that will help us pay full attention to the task-the letter, the email, the conversation-we must complete before surfing the Web or taking a break.” p. 58
* “acceptance-and beginning again-is the essence of all meditation practice. each time we sit down to meditate, we are starting over.” p. 110
* “read an entire email twice before composing a response.” p. 126
* “in a situation of potential conflict, let compassion guide you. what would you want someone to say to you if they were upset with you? what would you want to hear if you knew there were two legitimate sides of the story?” p. 139

intrigued? hope so!

here are a few resources:

* interview with sharon by work life nation
* interview with sharon by box of crayons {on her former book, real happiness}
* interview with sharon by elisha goldstein {on her former book, real happiness}
* mini meditations from real happiness at work
* her talk at the wisdom 2.0 conference i attended in september

i look forward to diving into this work with you. thank you for reading along and joining moi on this tranquility journey . . . at work, at home, and beyond. bisous. x