How easily those memories of the past seize us in the present moment! Or the anticipation of the future yanks us away from what’s going on here and now. Thich Nhat Hanh calls these “ghosts,” because they only exist in our mind. We conjure them—or they automatically return—through our conditioning. This keeps us stuck, feeding more thoughts into them so they get strengthened. If we can take a sliver of a moment to ground ourselves in the here and now, we can begin the long process of rewiring our brains.

Humility isn’t a very popular value because in its nature, it’s not about gain. Our society seeks gain rather than remaining humble, so it’s no wonder we’re always in competition with one another. Yet when we come across someone who is truly humble, it warms something within us. Why not practice humility today to defy our culture of gaining and winning?

How easily do our lives get pulled in many directions, to the point we can no longer drive straight! We might notice this during times of unconsciousness or emotional upheaval, when our autopilot kicks in. Lent is a time for us to reevaluate how we’re living our lives. We engage in certain efforts to bring our lives back into alignment with God.

How often do we take on a fad diet, lose weight, then gain it back once we return to our old eating patterns? Mental health is similar. Sure, drugs might help ease our symptoms of anxiety and depression, but it takes years of therapy to recognize our old patterns and develop new ones. This journey requires courage, strength, humility, and compassion.

Who is the good friend—the friend who tells you want you WANT to hear or NEED to hear? Marketers emphasize the first, and teachers stress the second. If we walk around life only listening to messages that validate our ego, we might miss the lesson.

With many churches losing members of their congregation, we also lose valuable voices that can help shape these communities. Church isn’t about attending a service once a week. Instead, it’s being part of a community that often disagrees. That community becomes lost when dissenting voices leave or fear speaking up.

Thomas Merton’s book, The Inner Experience, begins with a warning: You can’t use contemplation to hide. It’s not a solution to your problems. Many of our problems are situated in our false self. Contemplation is about being fulfilled in God’s existence.

So many self-help books and courses promise freedom and happiness, as if it’s an eternal state. That book or course might address a particular chapter in our life, but it might not fit into the next. Then we reach again for another quick fix out of our suffering. The best books and practices are those that teach us not only acceptance but also connecting with God or transcendence. Life is never a smooth path, so it’s best to anchor yourself in deeper, more universal Truth.

A branch of Buddhism tells the story of Indra’s Net to describe not only the non-solid nature of things but also how we’re interconnected and reflect one another. We can exhaust so much effort to try to stand out or stand above others, but that only tears the fabric that connects us.

We all have a still, soft voice within us. We often can’t hear it because we’re held captive by so many distractions outside of us. It’s critical for us to spend a few moments each day anchoring ourselves in Truth. Only then can we open our ears and hearts to what the still, soft voice wants to say.