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So much has happened.

We have a new President. The old one is delusional, reluctant, and stalling the peaceful transfer of power, but he will go. We have the first female Vice President in our nation’s history. She’s brainy, articulate, and experienced. She also smiles. RBG is dancing in her grave. The people have spoken.

But…

The world remains a difficult place. With a deadly pandemic still raging on, wreaking havoc disproportionately across our country, life, as we know it, has shifted and priorities have changed. There are still so many battles to win for humanity.  

As I take action for the causes and ideals I care about, as I wade through the mire, as I meditate and pray and try to “do better” and “be better” in this dirty old world, I keep this list of mantras close to my heart. They help me start each new day with a fresh, promising perspective.

Pressing forward, after all, is about attitude. It’s the one thing we can always control, right?

The work required to live my best life is often difficult, but I am willing and able. 

I am steadfast and true in my convictions, but I can change when I am wrong. I must.

Humor is present in every situation, and I will find it.

When my anxiety kicks up a notch, I will breathe through it, knowing I will get to the other side. 

I will reclaim my precious time. 

The world is complicated, but I will keep things simple and find joy in small moments—because small moments matter.   

My body needs nourishment, so I will offer it clean, unadulterated food, and clear water. And I will be grateful for both. 

My soul needs nourishment too, so I will feed my senses. Good smells, soothing sounds, and soft loving touches will envelop me as I move along my journey. 

There is so much I do not understand. Instead of feeling perplexed and overwhelmed, I will seek to be inspired.

No kindness will go unacknowledged. This is how I will do my part to propagate raw beauty in a dirty world. 

Today is a gift. Period. 

I will not be afraid to ask questions, and I will care enough to get most of them answered. 

There are things I must wait for, so I will practice patience, and I will model it for others.

Love is a choice I am willing to make with every living being. 

Hatred has no home inside my heart.

When I feel afraid, or disillusioned, or jaded, I will think of all who survived worse, and I will do my best to be brave.

I will cross bridges when they appear and not a moment sooner.  

I will find clarity and purpose by making the right decisions for me.

I will be a champion for a child today. Children need champions, if only to create that one little spark that ignites and changes them forever.

I will remember that to an elderly person, I am a child. Today, I will watch and learn and listen to someone older and wiser without shaking my head in mild or contemptuous rebuke. 

I have lived through disappointment, sorrow, shame, and a broken heart, but my heart still works, and that means I have more living to do.

I will find grace in my practice of being grateful for the things I have. I will curb my longing for the things I do not. I will look for the happy trails of my experiences outdoors, and my connective encounters with interesting people. 

Today, I will follow my heart instead of my head for once. I will do the thing I want to do instead of the thing I’m supposed to do.  

I will stand corrected without feeling wounded or betrayed, because I know that honest, constructive criticism, offered thoughtfully, is of benefit.

I will choose my words carefully for words can pelt and ding like hail, or blanket and cling like softly falling snow. 

I may not be young and beautiful, or cool, or a vegan, or a yoga master, or an artist, or a best-selling author, or worldly, or an expert on anything, but dammit, I am worthy just the same. 

I am seeking my own well-being, and the well-being of others, not perfection. 

I am capable of anything, today and every day.

What body, mind, and soul healthy-living mantra will you keep in your pocket for your own healing, surviving, and thriving? Humanity, in its infinite beauty and terror, can change for the better, one human being at a time.

~