Daily Buddhist [Wednesday Wisdom]

By Brendan Barca & Pema Sherpa

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

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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.

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Thanks for being here!

Brendan & Pema

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