Tag Archives: Word of the day

Word of the Day: Maitri

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Discovering new words is a constant joy.

Maitri: loving kindness and compassion for oneself, to reveal a profound essence that leads to personal growth, the ultimate self care.

Maitri is one of the four virtues of Buddhism, collectively known as Brahmaviharas or ‘the immeasurables’.

The term maitri can be translated from Sanskrit as loving-kindness or benevolence, The concept is central to the Buddhist practice of loving-kindness meditation and is also referenced in ancient Hindu and Jain scriptures.

Maitri was one of the themes of Buddhist teacher and author, Pema Chodron. In her book How to Meditate: A Practical Guide to Making Friends with Your Mind, she describes maitri as “unconditional friendliness,” not only towards others but towards oneself.

For maitri toward oneself, try this affirmation: “May I be happy, healthy, safe, and live with ease.”

Positive affirmations + the practice of infinite gratitude are two concepts I incorporate into my daily life.

How about you?

Boketto: Word of the Day

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Boketto is one of those magnificent Japanese words that doesn’t seem to have an exact English translation. 

Boketto is the act of gazing out into the distance with no specific thoughts, to lose oneself in the vast, mindless, horizon. 

I do it a lot, and for me, it’s a sort of trance; a spaced out, zen-like calm and meditative state.

Couldn’t you lose yourself right here above the Salish Sea gazing at the cloud-shrouded Olympic Mountains?

Word of the Day: Psithurism

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I love words and this is a good one.

Psithurism: a rustling or whispering sound, such as leaves in the wind; susurration [ sith-yuh-riz-uhm ] 

Example: Standing in the glade I heard a quiet psithurism, just straddling the line between music and noise.

Photo by veeterzy on Pexels.com

Susurrus: Word of the Day

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I love words like this, don’t you?

Susurrus is an onomatopoeic word; say it out loud and you’ll hear the sound — so many sibilant ssssssssses.

Susurrus – a low, soft, rustling, whispering; a low murmur or humming sound; think of the wind in trees or grasses, a stream or river, snakes, bees, or large groups of people speaking quietly to one another.

It’s also, apparently, a word used to describe a creature in some kind of fantasy game that I know nothing about.

Happy April!

Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

Ma…The Space Between Things

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I’m inspired by the spartan aesthetic of Zen Buddhism.

Is less really more?

Ma (pronounced “maah”) is a celebration of not things, but the space between them. It’s negative space, voids, emptiness. The place you get to (if you’re lucky) in meditation. Like the space where that tree used to be.

I’m not exactly sure why this tiny little ceramic vase IS. Like why it even exists.

Only four inches tall, it holds about a tablespoon of water and I continued to replace flower after flower until I got the brilliant idea of searching around the garden for beautifully shaped little twigs.

These are the last remnants of the ficus tree that is no longer there, and I decided it would be a simple way to honor that once living entity by saving a little part of it.

At first I was going to embellish the tiny branches with faux gems, pearls, and seashells–like I usually do–but the more I looked at it, the more I loved the bare simplicity. I didn’t want to detract from the design of the vase.

I should write a haiku about the tree and these twigs. Being a minimalist with words is just as difficult for me as NOT gluing shiny things to those tiny little branches.

So this is zen — ma, the serene space between things.