Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience


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Excitement

It begins with a small sliver,

Cresting the horizon.

Barely noticeable at first,

There is a stirring.

Sparks popcorn through the air.

A simultaneous stillness

Accompanied by a deep and profound desire to dance.

Masked by trees, clouds,

And preoccupied vision,

She goes unnoticed at first,

Simply climbing, filling, growing,

Not making any promises 

Not asking to be seen.

The wise ones feel her arrival.

And whether attuned or not,

prepared or not, 

receptive or not,

She makes her presence known.

Slowly shining more and more brightly,

Occupying more and more space,

Until she cannot be ignored

She ripples through your veins,

She invites wonder and awe.

She offers a compass point through the darkness,

Never imposing a path,

Simply holding the space,

Subtly encouraging your heart

To unlock in ways

Never imagined.

Photo by Jean McDonald


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Just Blooming

Sensitive,

not fragile,

discerning,

not judgmental,

discriminately absorbing,

not assimilating.

Cyclically blooming to retain resilience.

Protection

without

hardening.

Exotic?

Mysterious?

Nope.

Just being

fully

oneself.


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Living Whole

Today is complete.

From sunrise to sunset.

The space is full,

Just as is.

Not needing 

anything else.

Nothing more.

No pressure.

No expectations.

Full permission 

to simply be.

In the wholeness,

The enoughness,

The grace,

Of every sunrise

Every sunset

And every moment 

in between

The task at hand

Is simply to be.


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Revolution

Newness and unfamiliarity

fuel curiosity.

Forward momentum guides creativity. 

Acceptance reveals the path to joy.

Growth is the gift of change.


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Touchdown

Grounded in lightness.

Free to expand.

Confident in choice.

Clear in direction.

Comfort in stillness.

Peace in the quiet.

Steady in heart.

Content in this breath.


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Discarded

Alone, 

it rested 

below the fresh 

and blossoming 

bouquet, 

forgotten, 

dropped. 

As if it’s work was done,

the petal fell, 

tired, 

heavy, 

worn.

It left the collective

where it had so faithfully held on,

believing that its beauty lay

in its contribution.

It could hold on no more.

It had to drop away. 

It had to pull apart.

In its moment of letting go 

and seeming it was done,

that petal 

became 

its most beautiful 

version 

of itself.


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At the root of it all

I can no more be in or out of love 

than I can be in or out of my body,

or my breath.

Love is not something temporary,

to be chased,

or clung to.

Love is the essence of freedom,

self expression, and connection.

Love is a state of being

that allows all else to exist.


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Porous

Recognizing without conforming.

Allowing without absorbing.

Flowing effortlessly between the inner and outer world.

Uniquely connected.

Discerning without differentiating.

Stepping out of the rigid container of familiar and safe 

to freely exercise vulnerability and authenticity.

Curious.

Open to the new and opposing.

Existing within this thin permeable membrane.

Maintaining sense of self. 

Living deeply and authentically.


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Gently Tuning

Replacing effort and trying 

with releasing and allowing.

Engaging discipline.

Acknowledging capacity.

Values aligned.

Curiously listening.

Intuitively informed.

Soft not weak.

Strong not righteous.

Clear and present.


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Obstacles

I’m not always going to get my way,

but I’m always going to get what’s right for me.

When I let go of forcing outcomes,

stop relying on others for my happiness,

and see obstacles not as a sign of my worth but of my courage and strength,

even what seems like a paralyzing blockage

can be an invitation to take a different path,

go a different way,

or sit right where I am for a moment 

and reflect 

on the beauty, 

awe, 

and opportunity 

that exists right here,

right now,

just the way things are.

Much gratitude to Shari Irby for contributing this photo.