“It is easy to love your friend, but sometimes the hardest lesson to learn is to love your enemy.” Sun Tzu, The Art of War

Some people are easy to love; they bring smiles and joy to others and are a pleasure to know.  Thank you to God and the universe for these sweet, giving family members and friends.  I do of course love some others who might be classified as more of a challenge, but that crew can wait for my attention on another day.

And at this stage of life, I’m not even going to concern myself with loving my enemy! Hopefully I don’t have any, or at least not many, and if I do I guess I’ll worry about them later on, maybe when striving to reach some higher level of spirituality or personhood.

Today I’m focusing on being consciously grateful (not just grateful, but consciously grateful) for the people in my life who are so easy to love and luckily for me, there are many.

This pursuit, pleasant and important, is vulnerable and prone to interruption as little shadows drift by and try to cast their dingy film over my love and peace.  Very early this morning I practiced a short meditation designed to help beginners acknowledge, and then let go of, unwanted thoughts that might interrupt quiet-mind-time.  This nice little meditation led me to an app that I’m trying out. We at 55andChange like to bring attention to good books, ideas and resources when we find them.  Check out Dan Harris’s meditation for skeptics app .

Completely unrelated to meditation struggles, I’m getting the chance to use my budding new ‘letting go’ skill today. Coincidence – maybe, maybe not! Either way, the timing makes me smile and brings me back to appreciating the good people and things in life.

I’m guessing that there will be opportunity for many of us to let go of sad, shadowy thoughts this weekend – let’s give it a try. Wishing you all peace, happiness and plenty of easy to love people in your lives!