A Year of Loving Kindness to Myself: & Other Essays

by Brigid Lowry

Overview

A beautifully presented and uplifting book of contemplative, wry, sometimes funny essays about living thoughtfully and with care amidst life's challenges. If you're struggling to maintain grace and good humour amidst daily potholes and pitfalls, Brigid Lowry may be just the warm, wise, and witty companion you need. Informed by contemporary psychology and Zen Buddhism, Brigid's essays offer reflections on everything from friendship to grief, and from gratitude to self-care. Give this book to a friend or gift it to yourself, A Year of Loving Kindness to Myself is all the encouragement you'll need to nurture you and those around you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781925816334
Publisher:	Fremantle Press
Publication date:	04/01/2021
Sold by:	INDEPENDENT PUB GROUP - EPUB - EBKS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

The daughter of a typographer, Brigid Lowry began her writing career by self-publishing two dreadful poems when she was eight. She spent her twenties living in a Buddhist community, veered into performance poetry in her thirties, and subsequently gained a masters degree in Creative Writing before writing eight award-winning young adult books. She is a Zen student, a socialist, a creative writing teacher, an introvert who talks too fast, a drifter, and dreamer who loves the world of words. Brigid likes movies, travel, walking, and hanging around in libraries.

Table of Contents

Prajna - page 7 A year of loving kindness to myself - page 9 January: Beginning - page 9 February: Slowing down - page 11 March: Having fun - page 15 April: Working with difficulty - page 20 May: Loving kindness to my feelings - page 23 June: Equanimity - page 28 July: Acceptance - page 32 August: Anxiety - page 35 September: On wonder - page 40 October: Solitude and connection - page 45 November: Living simply - page 50 December: Creativity - page 55 On New Year's Eve, a prayer- page 58 Unable to save the many beings - page 60 On journals, notebooks, diaries and me- page 62 On Friday - page 67 On death - page 71 On things to do when life goes sideways - page 74 On friendship - page 75 Onwards - page 78 On solace - page 80 On walking - page 84 A few of my dreams - page 87 On Singapore - page 88 On house-sitting - page 91 On the spiritual life - page 94 On an ordinary day - page 100 For Tony Hoagland - page 106 On thinking - page 108 Border lines - page 113 Life lessons - page 114 On gratitude and joy - page 117 On questions - page 120 On decision-making - page 122 On the singing heart kitchen - page 126 On travel - page 129 Following the moon home - page 133 On sitting quietly - page 134 Things not written about - page 138 Notes and acknowledgements - page 140

Editorial Reviews

‘Brigid raises a brave teacup to the gnarly, mixed, yet ultimately generous provenance of this world. This artfully threaded string of honest, tender worry-beads — in the form of small unvarnished gems of hard-won self-acceptance — comes with far too much edgy candour ever to be mistaken for sticky “self-help”. A tonic for the spirit. Recommended dosage: once daily, before sleep.’ —Susan Murphy, author of Red Thread Zen

'Infused with honesty and insight and brimming with compassion, this wise book is a nourishing companion for troubled times. A must-read for cultivating a tender and loving approach to ourselves, others and our world'. —Sally Gillespie, author of Climate Crisis and Consciousness

‘An exquisitely unembellished Zen lesson in the art of attention, Brigid Lowry’s book is at once a memoir, a poem, a song, a bracing cup of tea and a healing balm for the unique blend of pain, joy and wonder of being human. A masterly portrayal of the miraculously ordinary extraordinariness of this very moment.’ —Perle Besserman, co-author of Grassroots Zen

From the Publisher