Hi, and welcome to your Daily Mindfulness.

Today, I'm going to share with you

two simple questions that can help you

find strength, purpose, and presence

in the midst of difficult times.

So when life gets tough, we're often

asking ourselves not so helpful questions

like, Why is this happening to me?

Or, whose fault is this?

Or, how could they do this?

Now I say these questions are unhelpful

because they lead our minds down,

passive thinking and emotions that

are generally not helping us find

inner strength, calm,and wisdom.

These kinds of questions can

instead bring up a lot of negativity

and inhibit our ability to take

effective action, learn, and grow.

And the thing is, is that the questions we

ask ourselves can change what we focus on.

So for instance, we can focus on whose

fault it is and end up focusing on

blame criticism and negativity, or

we can change our focus to something

much more empowering, something that

helps us rise to the challenges we

face with the best of who we are.

So there's three questions I

really like to ask myself when

I'm going through difficult times.

Here they are.

First question, what

can I learn from this?

Two, what do I need during this?

And three, how can I grow from this?

So you might like to think right now about

a difficulty in your life, if you care to.

And asking yourself this first question,

what can I learn from this, if anything?

So is there a nugget

of wisdom here for you?

If not, that's fine too.

Sometimes there's nothing, but sometimes

we also just focus on what's wrong.

Like I'll never do that again.

And you know, we, we have

this attitude that can kind of

breed cynicism and negativity.

But just taking a moment to ponder that.

Is there a nugget of wisdom?

What can I learn from this, if anything?

And two, what do I need during this?

You know, what do you need

to do to look after yourself?

Do you need more support?

Do you need more rest?

Do you need to be more in nature?

What do you need?

In the difficult times, that's

often a very important question.

And three, how can I grow from this?

So from this experience, who would

you like to be going forward?

Is there anything you'd like to change

about your behavior going forward?

How can you grow?

So rather than buckling under

your challenges, when they come,

let these questions help you

kind of rise up to meet them.

That way, each challenge can make you

stronger, wiser and more resilient.

So when you're facing challenges,

friends, just remember, you don't

have to just go through it, ask these

questions and you can grow through it.

Wishing you really well

with this practice.

And as always, thank

you for your practice.

And inviting you now to begin to

settle in for today's meditation.