Every Moment is an Experience

Thay Phap Dang at Plum Village Monastery says that every moment is an "experience" and if you understand it, it is a wonder of life. The experience can be good or bad. Each experience teaches us something. Today, you had a bad experience. And that's okay. Because you probably learned so much; on not what to be or do so others don't suffer.

The key is to not let the experience make you suffer. We have to learn how to suffer well, as I often remind our yoga & mindfulness students. If you can learn the art of suffering then you can learn how to cultivate more joy, peace and love into your life. 

Look at it this way, you can personalize each experience and ask yourself "How is this experience helping me with my suffering?" If the experience is joyful, embrace it because it is not permanent. If the experience is not joyful, take care of the suffering (sadness, fear, anxiety) with mindful breathing before it consumes you. This is the essence of the practice. Avoid blaming others or yourself. Work on cultivating inner peace at that moment (with mindful breathing, yoga, a walk/run in nature etc.) Then later on, reflect on the experience and ask yourself "How can I react differently next time?" 

Make every moment an experience.

Smiling at this moment,
Hang