THE MINDSET OF LOVINGKINDNESS
Last week I jumped on a webinar with Ben Crowe, performance coach to world class athletes including Ash Barty and Andre Agassi. The focus of his talk was how to maintain a positive mindset through challenge. He’s a contemporary guy but I was immediately struck with how much of the content rang true with concepts from the ancient wisdom traditions. At the heart of his message was the idea of lovingkindness.
He spoke about how we tend to place ourselves in vertical relationships with others. We place people on pedestals (richer, smarter, better looking) and see others (often ourselves) as somehow less than. Building horizontal relationships comes from the understanding that while we are all different, we are always equal. No matter where we are from or how much we achieve, no-one is more important than anyone else and deep down we all share the same vulnerabilities and challenges.
This is the spirit of lovingkindness. A bone-deep sense of connection and the understanding that we all deserve to wake up and have a good day. Really knowing this from deep in our gut and living from this place we experience a profound shift in how we see ourselves and the world around us.
If you want to hear more from Ben, you might enjoy this interview. For a more traditional take on lovingkindness, you can’t look past the book of the same name by my absolute hero, Sharon Salzberg.
One quote…
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere.
Loving Kindness, Sharon Salzberg
One question…
Notice how you relate this week to people you know and don’t know. Do your relationships tend to be vertical or horizontal?
Sent with love,
Melissa x