The fifth factor on the Buddhist eightfold past is Right Livelihood and is about speaking and acting with more conscious attention and care. This is an expression of our inner life, and basically our outlook and attitude. It is crucial to examine why we do the things we do and what we get out of it and what our individual impact on the world is. Our jobs are what we spend the majority of our waking hours doing. A career or a purpose should be an opportunity to find out how to serve rather than just time that we give to make money. Consider how you spend your days and how the moments in your day matter to both yourself and to others. Right livelihood helps you to grow towards awakening and insight because it comes from acting in an honest and virtuous way, and therefore leads to an open and warm heart rather than behaving in an unskillful and dishonest way. Do not be mistaken between what you do and who you are while you are doing what you do.

Right livelihood is an expression of care, tenderness, kindness, friendliness, inclusivity, intimacy, and peacefulness. It's roots are in simplicity and once again, non harming. Take something you do all of the time on autopilot mode and then see if you can add more mindfulness to it, like walking to and from your car into your house for example or brushing your teeth. Can you practice taking moments to transform dullness into brightness by opening up to the moment as it is happening. Not every moment needs to be magical and optimistic, and we don't need to be pushing away whats uncomfortable for the sake of trying to be positive. Some moments are just plain bad and horrible and right livelihood is about the willingness to accept what is occurring in our experience and moving towards an attitude of acceptance and care. It is also about recognising the nature of impermanence and the uniqueness of each day, even if it is not a great day. Sometimes that is in finding a bit of beauty or wonder or simplicity right where you are.

Right livelihood is about how to be in service to others whether in action or just in moral support, and how to give without being attached to the results. The impact of our intentions, thoughts, actions, and speech show up in our livelihood, which is the way that we do our jobs and how we behave. What is the ripple effect of what you do?

Reflect: How can I keep discovering truth and peace and love exactly where I am without needing something more or something different?