Think Like a Monk (Jay Shetty)

everywhere around us. In the environment, in the political atmosphere, but the
origin is in people’s hearts. Unless we clean the ecology of our own heart and
inspire others to do the same, we will be an instrument of polluting the
environment. But if we create purity in our own heart, then we can contribute
great purity to the world around us.”
TRY THIS: REVERSE ENVY
Make a list of five people you care about, but also feel competitive with. Come up with at
least one reason that you’re envious of each one: something they’ve achieved, something
they’re better at, something that’s gone well for them. Did that achievement actually take
anything away from you? Now think about how it benefitted your friend. Visualize
everything good that has come to them from this achievement. Would you want to take
any of these things away if you could, even knowing that they would not come to you? If
so, this envy is robbing you of joy. Envy is more destructive to you than whatever your
friend has accomplished. Spend your energy transforming it.
K AMĀ: AMENDING ANGER
We’ve talked about strategies to manage and minimize the daily negativity in your
life. But nuisances like complaining, comparing, and gossip can feel manageable
next to bigger negative emotions like pain and anger. We all harbor anger in some
form: anger from the past, or anger at people who continue to play a big role in
our lives. Anger at misfortune. Anger at the living and the dead. Anger turned
inward.
When we are deeply wounded, anger is often part of the response. Anger is a
great, aming ball of negative emotion, and when we cannot let it go, no matter
how we try, the anger takes on a life of its own. The toll is enormous. I want to
talk speci cally about how to deal with anger we feel toward other people.
Kṣamā is Sanskrit for forgiveness. It suggests that you bring patience and
forbearance to your dealings with others. Sometimes we have been wounded so
deeply that we can’t imagine how we might forgive the person who hurt us. But,
contrary to what most of us believe, forgiveness is primarily an action we take
within ourselves. Sometimes it’s better (and safer and healthier) not to have direct
contact with the person at all; other times, the person who hurt us is no longer