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It’s very easy and natural for us, especially here in the US, to be shaken. Democracy is the bedrock our society is built upon, and when that bedrock is threatened, it's unsettling at least and terrifying at worst. If we take more time to center ourselves, allow our minds to settle, and reconnect with our higher power, we will become more empathetic, better citizens.

It’s not about how long we stay on balance. Life will pull us off balance and that’s normal. Too often we beat ourselves up for the very act of losing our sense of balance or having adversity to deal with when the truth is everyone has challenges in varying degrees. Adversity is normal. Often in order to rebalance one area of our lives, we go out of balance in another. It’s ok. When you notice it, bring it back to center. Today we’ll do a full-body scan meditation and just like yesterday, when we drift into thought, come back to the mediation.

Mindfulness is in itself a practice of non-judgment. Each time the mind drifts, we simply bring it back to the meditation without judgment. Without frustration, self-shaming, or guilt. Our mind will always drift. We will always lose our balance. We will always have challenges. Meditation teaches us the habit of coming back to center.

Welcome to the first Monday of 2021, when the magic and festivity of the holidays come to a screeching halt and the crush of our hectic routines starts back up.  But if 2020 taught us anything, I think it’s that it’s more important than ever to take care of ourselves. So, as we look our first Monday of the new year in the eye, let’s pause first this morning to center ourselves.

Sundays are special. For Christians, a day of rest and worship. For Israelis and some Muslims, the first day of the workweek. In fact, almost everywhere, Sunday is the first day of the week. I think for most of us here in the US, it’s a day of renewal.

This time last year, 2020 was unimaginable. We started out with all the hope and promise a new year naturally brings. But by mid-March in the US, all that promise vanished. It was replaced by fear, anxiety, uncertainty, and isolation. And that was just the start. And so, here we are. Welcome to 2021. We should get an award for making it this far. Even the hope that this new year brings is muted because we know how brutal the virus this Winter will be. But hope is there. It’s always been there.

Mindfulness teaches us that when we drift off into thought, we simply start over. We bring our mind back to the mediation. No judgment. No self-shaming. We just start again. In life, every day is an opportunity to bring ourselves back to our purpose. To start again. No judgment. No failure. Just a new slate. And that’s what A New Day is all about. My hope is that you’ll use A New Day every morning as a way to center yourself and your mind. Ideally, you’ll do this before you get out of bed or first thing in the morning before the mind has a chance to get on the hamster wheel.