Warm Heart

This one makes me laugh, and pause.

A warm heart is easy when I’m well-rested, surrounded by friends, and everything is flowing. But Lama Zopa’s invitation is bigger than that. It's about training the heart to stay soft, even in the face of irritation—yes, even with the mosquitoes (and whatever else buzzes, bites, or interrupts).

For me, this teaching isn't about being perfect. It’s about trying. Widening my compassion just a little more. Softening where I used to tense. Choosing tenderness in moments where it's least expected.

Even the smallest acts—how I respond to a rude driver, how I care for plants, how I speak to myself when I’m tired—can become offerings.

Warm heart. Open palm. Even for the mosquitoes.