Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience

Category Archives: awareness


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Boldly Going Nowhere

Frenetically charging ahead.

Pushing to make something happen.

Squandering the gift time has given of ponderance.

Moving and changing is exhilarating.

The powerful rush of adrenaline

on the grand loops and dips of the roller coaster.

Is that sustainable?

Movement for the sake of movement can release and even bring progress.

Advancing into action

can relieve pain and fear.

It can also bring injury and dis-ease.

There is great potential for harm with repetitive movement absent proper supports and conditioning.

Every decision is filled with regret or acceptance.

Every decision is likely being made in response to fear.

It may be the greatest fear we have is remaining where we are.

Every decision can be empowering.

It may not require striving,

movement

or big changes

to demonstrate prowess,

intellect,

and power.

It may be adventurous.

It may untangle the bonds of current conditions.

Or, it may be escapism,

grandiosity,

avoidance.

It may be a means of hiding

or running away

from the lessons available right where we are.

Just being,

in the stillness,

in the simplicity,

in the temporarily perceived lack

and stagnation

could be just what is needed

to truly free the heart,

open the mind,

and honestly and gratefully embrace one’s spirit.

To boldly go where no one has gone before

may be an invitation

to stay right where we are.


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Apart or whole

Gnarled or free flowing.

Grasping or outstretched.

From its center point,

form expands in two directions,

mirrored in the spread of itself confidently into the earth

and it’s expansion courageously into the air.

Nourishment flowing.

Survival impossible without the reflections

of grounding,

of stretching,

of growth,

of change.

One feeding the other,

feeding the other.

Separate in apparent function.

Symbiotic existence as one.


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Listen to the feeling

The abundance of the universe surrounds me,

an endless supply of successes and challenges.

I always have the choice which way I turn.

Signs and signals.

Distractions and dilutions.

Stop looking to the outside for answers.

Trust the intuitive process of discernment and distinguishing.

There are no bad choices,

merely different ways to play in the field.

I can stay here or I can move towards something else.

Forcing narrows the focus,

and breeds striving,

limiting potential,

and resulting in tension and confusion.

Grace and patience fuel clarity

as trust flows into and from decisions to open opportunities,

not always challenge-free but solution-oriented.

Seeking the solutions

that inspire hope,

kindle kindness,

and support the expression of deepest passion

and purpose.

This is dharma.

This is the path of choice.


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Point of Reference

Oh, the wisdom and the entanglement of memories that accompany me

along the path of rising over resistance.

Cutting through the cords of debris from the past.

Mired in the mud of judgment and unmet expectations.

Stuck in the quagmire of fear.

The truth, like a sword, clears the rumination,

making way for the realization that

I can choose growth over stagnation,

healing over habits,

and triumph with awareness and agility,

as I change and make good,

drawing with power on my past.


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Tidal Flow

Fresh water mixes with salt.

The gateway brackish,

murky,

churning.

Swimming against the angry currents of

struggle,

despair,

and loss.

Riding the tides with

flexibility

and fortitude,

trust

and patience.

Constantly changing conditions stir hope and determination.

Survival requires adaptability.

Leaving the familiar marshes of the small, quiet stream

to swim in the wide open playground of the ocean.

This choice

a devotion.

This river of tears

leads to an ocean of joy.


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Misunderstood Magic

My friend, we are not unicorns,

But dragons!

Full of fire.

Welling with generosity.

Sensitive to every tide

and shift of the barometer.

Fueled by passion.

Righteous in ancient tradition.

Bleeding tenderness and hope.

So sorely misunderstood

and under valued.

Especially when we love most deeply,

reveal our sensitive nature,

and suppress our power.

We submit to others

so that they can feel strong.

We are so powerful that we can suppress our very own needs,

to the point of falling ill and weak,

until inside us awakens the dragon heart

and we become so much love,

so much joy,

that the entire world lights up from our magnificence

and all doubt and judgment fades,

revealing our scales,

our scars,

and our wounds.

Stepping

proudly,

unapologetically,

fully

into our power.


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Full court press

Curled up in a tiny ball,

breath pressing against muscles and bones heavy with the weight of not knowing.

The voice trying to find its footing,

wanting so desperately to be guided to its answers by the outside,

knowing it must dig deep and mine its own direction authentically from within.

In between each sigh,

a tear drops to the floor,

the only sign of motion

in this otherwise still

and down thrown body.

The simultaneous fullness

and emptiness

pulling at its core.

To be all

and

nothing.

Not afraid

to be afraid.


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Dear charioteer

Be firm in your direction of travel,

humbled confidence as your guide.

With peace, kindness, and assuredness,

go forth.

Fulfill your dreams.

Don your most regal robes of passion and creativity.

Harness the flames of focus and determination.

Let the earth quake and rumble,

the skies fill with darkness,

and ride not into conflict and challenge as a battle,

but as an opportunity to demonstrate your

strength,

intelligence,

and fortitude.


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Barely hanging on

Precariously perched on outstretched limbs of past experiences.

Formed of familiar coping mechanisms.

Unable to adapt to the changing conditions.

Heavy with the weight of others bearing down.

Recognizing the temporary nature of this existence.

One swift gust of wind.

One sudden yank from gravity.

All semblance of control,

all sense of purpose and being, melts away

in the free fall.

Crashing into the next newest version of self.


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Allow Me

Root my grounding cord deep into the earth.

Open my mind to the wisdom of the universe.

Flow endless love and joy through the river of my heart.

Fuel me with confidence and clarity.

Allow me to be a humble reservoir of harmony and balance,

in the space between earth and sky,

in this space of being human.