Today is Wednesday, January 14th, 2026, and it is 10:58pm. I am having a much later start to my writing than usual. Unfortunately, I got distracted by Messenger and Facebook. I did my evening chanting later than usual as well. I did do some study before I chanted.
I called my friend May who is struggling with her practice. Right now, due to her living situation, she can’t chant every day. I encouraged her to start by chanting to be able to chant. I also shared that I did know what it is like to have an inconsistent practice. Having a consistent practice definitely makes a difference. I also shared some writing from our Buddhist publication the Living Buddhism.
This year I determined to study more and I am doing so. Which reminds me that I have yet to read my at least 3.1 pages of the Writings of Nichiren Daishonin. I generally read 4 pages a night. I am enjoying reading the Gosho so much! Lately, I have found that studying does bring me joy.
I am so glad that I made the determination to study the Gosho and Buddhist publications more in 2026. I am doing well so far. It is only January 14th, but I am on a good roll, and I have confidence that I can continue to do this. My practice is very important to me. I do put it in the center of my life. I find that when I am practicing strongly, everything else seems to fall into place.
Today is Thursday, January 15th, 2026, and it is 10:46am. My workplace was closed today due to the inclement weather. I got a message early this morning. I tried to go to bed for an hour but found I could not go back to sleep.
I really need to do my human revolution. Sometimes I respond to situations with my feelings when I should have a cooler head and take a step back. I also tend to seek external validation outside myself. I must work on being satisfied by my own personal validation and not needing to seek through others to feel good about myself. I guess part of my problem is that I don’t see myself clearly, so I try to see myself through how other people perceive me.
I had to cancel my support group the Virtual Open Mic today, because the office is closed and I am not allowed to work from home. I was so disappointed. I really love this support group, and it does mean a lot to me. The last time we met was the 2nd Thursday in December. We couldn’t meet on the 1st Thursday in January because it fell on January 1st. I was so looking forward to connecting with my peers again, so I was especially sad we could not meet today.
I saw my therapist a couple of days ago. It was very helpful to talk to her. I have decided that I am going to prioritize my mental health because if my mental health is not where it should be, everything else in my life would suffer. I tended to put my work first and put my therapy appointments on the back burner. I finally realized that is not the right attitude to have. I was treating my mental health treatment as an afterthought. I need to put this in the foreground, not the background. I think many of us peers can be guilty of this. We put our work first and forget to prioritize our own mental health. This is a big mistake, and we are not being a good model to our peers.
So, I have decided to put my Buddhist practice and my mental health first in 2026. When I do this, everything will work out as it should. I have been studying more for the past couple of weeks, and I have noticed the difference. I am also determined to support more people in my SGI family. When I support others, I am not only helping them, but it also strengthens my own practice of Nichiren Buddhism as well.
However, despite all that, I know I need to prioritize my own happiness. How can I help other people be happy, if I am not? How can I help other people see their Buddha nature, if I can’t see my own? I have a lot of work to do on myself, and I am very hopeful and excited!