We were sitting next to each other on a bus. We had just recently met at a conference and were sharing some high-level details about our lives. Talking about what challenged us with work and co-workers, the standard conversation about what we did and didn’t like. Carla listened to me describe a challenging co-worker dynamic, then she looked at me and asked “Have you ever heard of the Metta meditation?”. I hadn’t. Carla explained that doing this daily and naming a challenging relationship had helped her make improvements in those relationships.
After googling it and learning what it was about, I decided to give it a try. I did the Metta daily for a month as part of my morning routine, naming the challenging co-worker by name each day. It worked for me, maybe it could work for you, too?
Metta meditation (repeat 3 times, once for yourself, once for a general ‘you’, and once naming the name of the person with whom you have a challenging relationship:
May I be happy, May I be healthy, May I be free of suffering, May I live in peace, May my life be blessed with ease
May you be happy, May you be healthy, May you be free of suffering, May you live in peace, May your life be blessed with ease
May [name] be happy, May [name] be healthy, May [name] be free of suffering, May [name] live in peace, May [name]’s life be blessed with ease