Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience

Category Archives: freedom


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Sparkling Entanglement

An enthusiastic and naïve seagull swoops down on a tiny fish sparkling near the surface of the softly rippling waves.

It eagerly dives in and grasps the silvery treasure.

A simple maneuver performed hundreds of times in the past turns immediately to struggle as a hook and clear line at the end of a poll entangle the unsuspecting.

Soon the sky fills as the silent call for help produces a furry of circling, screeching, and diving.

All are now hovering, pensively and purposefully.

A shirt comes off to cover the bird as nimble hands work to untangle the lines.

The air is filled with insecurity and uncertainty.

A cloud of judgment forms.

It is the bird’s fault.

It is the fisherman’s fault.

They are saving the bird.

They are hurting the bird.

All is a swirl in the energetic exchange of emotions and actions.

Soon there is a release, a cutting free, a letting go.

And none are left untarnished.

There is not an immediate sense of relief as one might expect.

Heads hang heavy, perhaps even filled with shame and remorse.

The drenched shirt, the cut line, the disheveled demeanor of all reminds us that even when the urgent rescue and the struggle dissolve,

There is a residual current of pain that must be allowed to dissipate and transform.

Even in the shortest-lived trauma, there must be a space following for grief, loss, and healing.

No participant in this event is untouched.

Only those who feel fully, surrender to the flood of intense sensations, and tend the wounds of the entanglement will be fully free.

A period of rest and repair is needed for all.

Shaking,

pruning,

pacing,

sounding,

slowing down,

and reconnecting

to the earth,

the water,

and the air,

each participant is offered a blanket of grace, compassion, and love to wrap around them in order for the judgment, fear, shame, and pain to subside.

In due time, as they forgive one another, they once more wander the edge of the sea, seeking nourishment, seeing differently, and feeling a part of something greater,

a net of seemingly invisible lines meant to connect and secure us, and sometimes harrowingly entangling,

always informing and forming

who we are,

where we go,

and how we get there.


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Into the Ether

Within this great time of change, unsettledness, and loss, comes an urge for clarity, knowing, and security.

It becomes more and more elusive with grander and grander efforts to find a connection, a grounding, a holding on place.

Clawing furiously at the earth, desperate for a sense of being held, folding so close to its surface, the breath and body become lost, unable to find the satisfaction of security.

Perhaps the rooting down into connection is not what is needed.

Rather, the courage to rise up to it,

To release the bonds and tethers that built an illusion of having a home.

To become the ether,

The soft chord that aligns with the core of our being,

That has no home because it is our home,

That needs no latching on as its connection is found in the releasing, trusting, and cutting of cords.

The ether holds timeless wisdom in quietude,

A space where the walls of understanding, reason, and storytelling are replaced with wide expanses of clarity, simplicity, ease, and knowing.

Ethereal connections need no validation or roots but remind us of unity in the unknown.

It is time not to hunker down into the ordinary, the familiar, and the history, but to embark on a journey of discovery, exploration, and love within,

A greater belonging,

A time to take flight.

There in the ether exists

An absence of need,

A discovery of true essence,

And the freedom to truly be home.


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Oohh, so very powerful!

Not coy,

confident.

Not tethered,

anchored.

Not drifting,

opening.

Rooted in the earth.

Expanding the mind,

not with thought derived from past experiences but with ideas inspired by the unknown.

Capable.

Clear.

Strong.

Assured not in the direction in which I will head but in the magnificence of who and where I am right now.

For when the stillness and quiet fade,

I will continue to embody grace and power.

I will not forget that I am

omnipotent.


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Move the Rocks!

Along the creek’s edge,

water swiftly flowing,

slippery mud warns of the potential danger in crossing.

Yet here I am, knowing this is the way to go.

I watch as the current jets and swerves around the moss and algae covered rocks scattered in the creek.

I find the most narrow crossing and yet it seems like still an impassible ravine.

My body tightens with anxiety,

For a moment I choose fear in response to this opportunity to move in a new direction.

In the tightening, frozen, I am,

dreading staying where I am equally to where I know I must go.

Then the anxiety speaks more loudly.

My breath grabs at my chest.

Sweat speckles my skin.

I must make the crossing.

That is my destiny.

I step out onto one rock and

with breath unconvinced of my safety the path begins to unfold.

I pause.

Instead of dashing quickly across the precariously and wide spread rocks,

I reach out to the rock before me and test its steadiness.

In the past I might not have made a connection – I might have tried to move urgently, wobbly and unsure, holding my breath and perhaps even crashing in the cold rushing water…blaming the rocks.

Today, my anxiety informs me of my power to pause,

to narrow my attention, my body, and my focus.

I don’t need to take the path as it is.

I tense not with fear but with agency as I move my muscles into action.

I reach down and shift the unsteady rock before me.

It’s heavy and at first won’t move.

So I narrow and tighten more until I funnel the tightness into strength.

The rock moves…and so do the others beyond it…and so do I.

The rocks settle.

I settle.

My chest releases.

My breath deepens.

My body advances forward,

grounded and a bit more sure.

There are a few more stones to go but I now know I don’t need to take them as they are.

I can make the path my own as I find my way.


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Dearest One

Don’t wait for them to see the richness and uniqueness – see it yourself…

Unwind your tangled perception of you…

Enjoy the where you are and the where you will be, each full of challenges and delights…

Please love yourself just a little more…you are harder on yourself than anyone else ever could be…

Do all things because they feel good and nurture you not because they are “right” or provide a shield from the deep dark thoughts and feelings that face you…

Fearlessly take the hands of hurt and pain and walk with them for a bit, let them guide you out of the darkness until together you find the space to release each other…

Take your time in the process of caring for you above all else…slow down and tend to each and every element of you as if massaging a baby tenderly with the balm of divine love…

Feel grateful for the ease and healing in every breathe…

Move your body with the joy and freedom it was designed for…

You, my friend, are made of love and all those with truest loving eyes will see that and that is all that matters…

Turn your truest loving eyes towards your own heart and hold it sweetly, love it dearly, and this will be enough.

Photo compliments of Pauline Campbell.


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Fearless Living

Once there was an old belief that said,

“I am afraid…afraid of hurting others because I feel their hurt as if my own…hurting others jeopardizes my relationships and in that I run the risk of feeling their anger or worse, their scorn and disappointment. It is better to deny my joy than risk upsetting theirs.”

For a long, long time that belief walked confidently along its path unhindered. One day, it stumbled on that well worn path upon a rock of joy. It tripped over pebbles of power, and fell upon a bolder of truthfulness. As the belief lost its balance, it fell into a net of beautiful jewels all connected by a golden thread of love, of creativity, kindness, and great joy.

The belief grasped at the edges of the path, grappled with the sensation of free falling, longing for the predictable order of its existence. In the blinding beauty of the sparkling jewels, the belief had no choice but to release its fear, to drop into the wide and open net, to be held by a greater force in the space of free will and joy.

Gradually, the belief allowed itself to let go of the path and discovered its power to attract truthfulness and joy. It found that in that vibration there was no room for fear, hurt, or loneliness…only love.


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Positivity

Boundaries contribute to positivity.

When I establish a parameter by which I can protect my values,

I increase my sense of stability and clarity.

That directly enhances my capacity to remain sure, confident, and clear.

In that state of certainty I am able to tamper negativity and remain open and flexible.

I maintain absolute dedication to my own well being.

I feel greater patience accompanied by assurance.

This cultivates positivity that directly fuels my ability to love.

Here, I feel nothing but joyful, confident, and free.


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Resentment

I didn’t listen to myself.

I didn’t present myself clearly.

My primary goal to avoid conflict,

I jeopardized my safety to ensure my survival.

And just like that I feel devalued.

My experience is in direct contrast with my values.

I chose inner conflict rather than anger.

Oh, I get angry, but I turn it all on me,

Suppressing outward expression out of fear,

For the sake of compliance.

Meeting the needs of others supplants

My capacity to meet my own needs.

Sacrificing my internal sense of security for connection

Causes an internal disconnection between my own heart and mind.

My body bristles at the assault and becomes a harbor for my anger

Disappointment surfaces as dis-ease and lingers

In my consciousness and beyond.

Suddenly, the sweet voice within that I so defiantly ignored

Grabs my full attention as it says,

“You did your best…

And they did too.”

“You are capable of keeping yourself safe now.

Be strong, consistent, and clear.

Make choices that preserve your freedom and safety.

Love yourself above all else

And you will never have to sacrifice your values for security.”

A new state of being immerges

Free of disappointment

Free of feeling wronged, hurt, and weak.

Free of resentment.

Free to be grateful.

Free to forgive.

Free of burdens

and unconditionally loved.


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Bursting with Power

It doesn’t matter how much power you have if you don’t allow it to burst out and serve you.

So many times I have used my power to suppress my own needs, my voice, my self-advocacy…all for the sake of “preserving the peace.” But, how can peace be preserved when a battle rages within me to suppress my own feelings and needs simply to avoid the risk of imploring you to revel in my power to know myself. Ah, yes, there is a chance that you will be wounded in the wake of my power, but that wound I can hold with much greater compassion than the devastation that comes from turning my power against myself.

My power transforms from exploding within to bright and shining rays of love and truth when authentically attuned. I begin to recognize that honesty is a demonstration of true prowess and the recognition of woundedness an opportunity to be powerful in kindness, forgiveness, and grace.

My power magnifies when I allow it to burst out and serve me, so much so that it can hold all of the discomfort, all of the woundedness, all of the needs and feelings — yours and mine – and in that outburst peace is preserved.