character | Monday Mindfulness

March 27, 2023
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Exposed

Sanding and scraping at the scars, dents and built up layers of protection releases not only the renewed beauty of the untouched core but reawakens all the senses as the scent, taste, and feel of the raw nature is revealed.

It is hard work to peel away the layers and return to that soft exposed space of vulnerability. It also comes with a lightness and freshness that invites expanded breath and awe at the ability to renew and return to untouched purity.

It is the purity and vulnerability that allow the true Self to be revealed, rekindled, and invited to be seen, smelled, tasted, and heard.

I sand, scrape, and rub at the layers of my existence to expose the grain of my soul, renewed with freshness, clarity, and beauty in my raw, natural state.

While I may still need a soft coat of protection for survival, this time it will be applied lovingly and gently by me, and leave room for my natural imperfections to shine through.

March 13, 2023
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Reclaiming Ground

Cracks in the foundation.

Gotta dig deeper.

Move more dirt.

Secure the footings.

Rising fear like flooding waters.

Climbing higher

Full of frailty

Mounting doubt

Insecurity

in the instability

existence threatened

Could it all crumble?

Maybe it should.

Digging deep.

February 27, 2023
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Think…love…choose

I don’t have to think like you.

I can leave a space for your thoughts in my mind without compromising my own.

I don’t have to love you.

I can hold a space for you in the sacred abode of love in my heart.

I don’t have to make choices in response to your choices.

I can make space for choices that clears away the clouds of fear, and doubt, and greed.

Being human affords me the opportunity to think, love, and choose.

Grace affords me the space to think, love, and choose freely, kindly, and honestly and leave room for you to do the same.

February 13, 2023
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As The Wind Blows

I am made of grace

Flowing and free

A mystery force

Unseen yet felt

Barreling through corridors

Softly pressing against your body

Making my way.

Often unnoticed

Unappreciated

Lonely at times

Ignored unless I rage

Stoking flames

Tipping trees

Whipping myself around wildly

Roaring in your ears.

Do you notice my work

Clearing old leaves from the trees,

Making wild flowers dance,

Brightening your cheeks?

Or are you only frustrated

As I muss your hair,

Push against you,

Rip through your windows?

Invite me in,

Swirl with me,

Experience my grace as your own.

Help me avoid the need to burst into flames

Or wither to nothing just to be noticed,

To feel connected to you.

Honor not just my ferociousness

But the power in my grace.

February 6, 2023
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Let Me Be Clear

So many times I have wished for a window into the future, into the consequences of my choices.

Seeking certainty in my decisions, weighing my intuition against the feedback in my environment, just to be sure I am getting the best deal, walking the right path, doing the proper thing.

All along I have sought clarity to fuel my certainty. I thought that clarity would provide assurance as if my choices could ever be right or wrong.

The day I chose acceptance over assurance is the day I began to realize there are no good and bad choices, no right or wrong.

When I seek assurance in my choices, I am doubting my capacity to be flexible, creative, and resilient.

When I seek to accept my choices I engage compassion for myself and confidence that I will be ok no matter what choice I make.

January 2, 2023
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Seeking My Place in the Sun

I am never quite sure what challenges lie ahead.

I reach out, spreading my branches despite the fog.

I do not know what I will touch or be touched by.

I cannot help but feel a darkness lurking there, fear ever present in knowing there may be hurt or pain in the unknowns and unkinds that secretly swirl around me.

The fog fuels my insecurity as the branches of other trees press against me further threatening my place in the sun.

It is then that I remember that I am made to bend and sway.

I reach not with my branches but deep down through my roots.

I extend my roots for both of us, steadying me and gently holding you so that together we can face the fog and darkness with greater certainty.

I am grateful to feel your roots hold me in return.

Under the pressure to withstand, when I feel and share my roots I need not push away those that cast shadows.

We need not struggle to find our way alone.

As I lend strength, I find security.

As I steady others, we stand together,

equally thriving,

despite the fog.

December 5, 2022
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A stone’s throw

To cross the stream, I search for stones that seem fixed despite the moving waters.

These stones suggest a level of safety in my crossing as they seen unmoved by the current,

stronger than I could be on my own.

Is the stream really too deep and forceful that I need the stones or

can I make the crossing?

I question my capacity to carry myself,

despite the quiet flash of reassurance in my belly suggesting I could navigate the waters just fine on my own.

I turn instead to the stones’ promise to hold me.

Without hesitation, I step wildly, quickly, with hope that they will be what they appear to be.

I put my trust completely in the stones

Only to find them unbalanced, slippery, unable to hold me, and

Depositing me completely and fully into the water.

My trust in the stones vanishes into the darkness.

I fight the current…the message…trust no one.

Suddenly the flash returns…trust…trust yourself.

It doesn’t have to be steady, clear, easy, or look a certain way.

I dive into the self-reliance that holds me, guides me, connects me with the edge of safety.

There in that moment I find trust on the inside that inspires more reliable trust on the outside.

November 21, 2022
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Ripples

Each of us is standing in our own ripples,

Not different but unique,

Finding our own way to stay steady in shared space.

In this familiar but sometime unpredictable environment,

Looking for patterns that help us feel secure,

Relying on patterns that helped us adapt,

We find ourselves courageous enough to learn new patterns that allow us to thrive even more fully

Amongst the ripples.

November 7, 2022
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Every day

Even in the presence of the greatest fear or anger, I can exercise refined goodwill, fluid kindness…grace. Tactfully navigating life’s challenges is one of the greatest opportunities we have to embody love. Not just in the big confrontations but in the small everyday exchanges.