For Self
May I be well, happy and safe.
May I be free from suffering and at ease with pain.
May I live in peace and harmony with all beings.
May I live with a heart and mind that is always in balance.
May I accept with understanding and wisdom the events in my life and world.
May I forgive others and myself for the inevitable harms we cause each other.
May I have the patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome the inevitable problems in life.
May I experience and manifest loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.

For Others
May they be well, happy and safe.
May they be free from suffering and at ease with pain.
May they live in peace and harmony with all beings.
May they live with hearts and minds that are always in balance.
May they accept with understanding and wisdom the events in their lives and world.
May they forgive others and themselves for the inevitable harms they cause each other.
May they have the patience, courage, understanding, and determination to overcome the inevitable problems in life.
May they experience and manifest loving kindness, compassion, joy and equanimity.
—Modified by Charlie Day after 9/11

This mediation is also reprinted in Darren’s book Inner Tranquility: A Guide to Seated Meditation

Sometimes, during my early-morning meditation, a place within me opens and parts of myself let go that I didn’t even know were holding on. In these moments I feel all the hard places in my heart and body yield to a great softness carried on my breath, and I am filled with compassion for the part of me that is always trying, always organizing, problem solving, anticipating. My mind stops and simply follows my breath. A great faith washes through me; a knowing that everything that needs to get done will get done. My shoulders drop an inch and the small but familiar ache in my chest eases—The moment stretches. There is enough: enough time, enough energy, enough of all that is needed. A great tenderness for myself and the world opens inside me, and I know that I belong to this time, to these people, to this earth and to something that is both within and larger than all of it, something that sustains and holds us all. I do not want to be anywhere else. I am filled with a commitment to, and a compassion for myself and the world.
—Oriah Mountain Dreamer
from the book “The Invitation“

When we waste our time, it is like plucking the pearls from a dazzling necklace one by one and throwing them away. But when we use time well, each minute adds another jewel to enhance the beauty of our lives. Because time is our life, it is very precious, and we need to learn to treasure it.
— Tarthang Tulku