Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom]

By Brendan Barca & Pema Sherpa

Age-old Buddhist wisdom for modern living. Weekly insight loved by over 18,000 practitioners. 🙏

...

Finding Freedom in Fun

Every day, our 2-year-old only seems to want to do one thing: have fun. She wants to go to the playground, eat the “tastier” snacks, play dress-up, sing in the bath, and paint her nails (with non-toxic gel, of course!).

Right up until bedtime, she’s trying to squeeze in “just one more” fun activity.

As a parent, this can sometimes be exhausting. But mostly, it’s fun for us, too. The more Samaya laughs and plays, the more we laugh and play.

It got us thinking: At what point along the way did we lose our ability to have fun?

Of course, as adults, we have responsibilities, chores, work, and plenty of things that need to get done. But can’t we squeeze a little more fun into our days?

The more fun we have, the lighter we feel. And the lighter we feel, the more patient, generous, and kind we tend to be with ourselves and others. Fun is good for us.

So while having fun isn’t technically part of the Eightfold Path or any other core Buddhist teaching, we think the Buddha would probably agree: Have a little more fun.

Today, ask yourself: What’s one fun thing I can do? And who can I do it with?

Maybe it’s a board game, a night out, playing with your kids, or simply dancing around the living room.

Go ahead. Today, have a bit of fun.

Alleviate Stress with Your Breath: FREE 5-Minute Guided Lesson

Join Pema in a 5-minute guided practice that will give you a new technique to handle everyday stress.

Get it Free!

...

Thanks for being here!

Brendan & Pema

👉 Get The Daily Buddhist book 32% off! 📘

P.S. We're working on a new physical product for you! Launching this fall. Stay on the newsletter to be the first to access it!

Unsubscribe

Read more from Daily Buddhist Newsletter

Wednesday Wisdom: It's All Part of the Path

Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom] By Brendan Barca & Pema Sherpa Age-old Buddhist wisdom for modern living. Weekly insight loved by over 18,000 practitioners. 🙏 ... It's All Part of the Path “It is important to expect nothing, to take every experience, including the negative ones, as merely steps on the path, and to proceed.” - Ram Dass There’s an old Zen saying: “Chop wood, carry water.” This proverb reminds us that the spiritual path is not separate from everyday life. We don’t become wiser...

6 days ago • 1 min read

Wednesday Wisdom: If You Had Only One Year to Live

Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom] By Brendan Barca & Pema Sherpa Age-old Buddhist wisdom for modern living. Weekly insight loved by over 18,000 practitioners. 🙏 ... If You Had Only One Year to Live If you had only one year to live, what would you do? Quit your job? Travel the world? Join a sangha? Get a divorce? Apologize to your sister? When we’re posed a question like this, our minds may experience a mix of excitement and panic. Only a year? But I haven’t lived enough. And yet, when we slow...

13 days ago • 1 min read

Wednesday Wisdom: The Buddha's Lesson on Letting Go

Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom] By Pema Sherpa & Brendan Barca Age-old Buddhist wisdom for modern living. Weekly insight loved by over 18,000 practitioners. 🙏 ... The Buddha's Lesson on Letting Go One day, while the Buddha was sitting with a group of monks, a farmer came rushing toward them, looking distressed. “Has anyone seen my oxen? They’re lost!” he cried out. The Buddha looked up calmly. “No, sir. I’m sorry, but we haven’t seen any oxen pass by here.” The farmer let out a frustrated...

20 days ago • 1 min read