Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience

Category Archives: being present


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Am I?

Am I’m the only one dancing?

The only one smiling for no particular reason at all?

Am I the only one pausing to catch the sparkle of light dodging in and out of the branches of the trees?

Is it my ears alone that hear the ripples and gurgling of the creek

And the silence of the snow?

Does only my heart jump and my belly jiggle with laughter as the squirrel tries to carry the nut too big for its mouth

And the duck rolls over in the pond with its rather ungraceful landing?

Am I the only in awe of the fullness of the warmth of the sun as it caresses my face?

Am I the only one that delights as raindrops dance across my head and body?

Am I the only one who feels the love of all creation wrap around me and hold me tight every time I pause to be still and rest?

Am I the only one brought to tears of joy in the beauty of it all?


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Clarity fleeting

So, I sit here day after day wallowing in my mistakes, misfortunes, pain, and suffering.

I hold onto them in my body like appendages…the tension in my muscles, the crookedness of my bones, the heaviness of my head…and heart.

I carry them as reminders of my faults and flaws.

And yet, when I sit in stillness, when I fill and empty with awareness on my breath, I find only peace…ease…joy.

Remembering…

…the gentle touch of others, through their hands, hearts, and smiles.

…the power of my cognition to work the puzzle pieces of every day life.

… the essence of my kindness and great capacity for love.

…the gifts of receivership and gratitude that present so abundantly and frequently.

I’ve been conditioned to hold onto and dwell on the lack and sorrows as if they belong permanently.

Love, joy, and freedom are somehow deemed as temporary.

Today I give myself permission to release it all – to breathe in and out with equanimity in every moment, to imbibe and cleanse, receive and release, storing none as defining me and simply allowing it all to live through me without reliving or retaining any of it as me.

Clearing the channels of experience so that all flows, informs, and re-minds me that I am everything and defined by nothing.


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Divine Wisdom

I’m not waiting.

I’m allowing.

I’m unlimited creative genius,

Divine!

I am not waiting to be rescued or for my destiny to find me.

I am getting out of the way!

Waiting means I’ve got it all planned out and everything is going to be step by step as I envision.

I know that I don’t make it happen.

I allow it to happen.

So many other forces are at work. Why would I think it’s just me marking my path.

It’s me counting on you and everyone and everything around us.

In that way I cannot control the direction I go in.

All I can do is know that I am headed that way.

I know what it feels like to have the future I am destined for.

The how is irrelevant.


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Living in the space of AND

White flowers

Dark textures

Straight lines

Soft edges

Living wholeness

Dried pieces

Flowing lines

Still emptiness

Warm touches

Cool feeling

Hope and breath

In the spaces

Photo courtesy of Susan Kerr.


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Scattered

I wonder if our paths as humans are designed not to run in a straight line but to zigzag like the paths of butterflies in flight.

Zigzagging might not be an obstacle, but may just give greater freedom to go wherever we are inspired to go and break free from the predictable.

Perhaps the path is intentionally zigzag so that when we’re not sure where we are going, we end up exactly where we are supposed to be.


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Cultivating the smile within

In each moment

there exists a small space

of contentment.

It is our work

to come back to this space,

again,

and

again,

and

again

and

again

until with every moment

our first feeling

is one of contentment.


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Budding Joy

Challenge can breed fear.

Fear fosters insecurity.

Insecurity inhibits growth.

Growth is a fundamental quality of living.

With growth we can overcome fear.

With every little bit of fear we face

We grow and that growth produces wider bands of safety

Making the next challenge a little easier to face,

Until more and more often the challenges yield directly to growth over fear,

And growth becomes the natural next step closer to joy.


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No Ties

They say it’s the rainy season,

But this sweet hibiscus might disagree.

Roots reach out for a hint of moisture

Only to find dry fissures.

Body wilting,

Edges curling

Under the heat of the

Unrelenting sun.

Is it possible to need less?

To hold out for the rain?

Leaves start to yellow and fall to the ground.

It may be unrecoverable.

The sky grays,

The wind picks up

Tugging on every branch.

Pounding rain bounces off the parched ground

Smacking the undersides of the few remaining leaves.

The clouds break.

The ground is soft.

The leaves are green.

Out pops a blossom.

No ties to suffering.

No lingering struggle.

Just strong, vibrant.

Resilient.


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Ever Changing Skies

Shifting

Swirling

Overlapping

Never separate

Never fully one

Dark and light blending

No clear definition

Stormy or clearing

All sources of nourishment

Endless gifts

Purpose in all.


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The Way

Standing on the precipice, mountains before me and behind me, I contemplate briefly the ascent or decent into the unknown.

No worries that the fog hinders my view because I feel my feet. I know that each moment, step by attuned step, I will find the earth and the sure footing that only comes with internal clarity.

Like the goat that climbs the rocks and edges of the cliffs with certainty, I approach the present, with the same attention to which I have all too often focused on my future and my past.

Looking back and looking forward the fog distorts the view. The lack of clarity forces me to see here, only that which is right in front of me.

In this moment, I put my hooves to the ground. I see the steps I need to take right here and now. I do not need to see the mountains in the foreground to know my way.