Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Peace & Resilience

Category Archives: Inspiration


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Brushes with Bromeliads

Every day, I tenderly pluck and sort the unwanted guests between the treasured plants in the garden of this life of mine. I carefully reach between the stalks and flowers I choose to keep and arrange them all just so.

And, even with the most careful attention, I never leave my garden without scrapes, brush marks and bruises.

Yes, some of the most treasured plants in my garden have thorns. I move with particular sensitivity around them lest they snag my flesh. And somehow even as they cut me, I am still able to see their beauty and feel their special worth. They reach out and brush against me as if they just want to touch, to say “isn’t this all so grand that we are here?!”

It is at that moment when I am wounded but still capable of loving – even those plants with thorns – that I recognize that this coexistence is the essence of thriving.


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Just My Thinks

There are thinks I follow through on and thinks that follow me.

There are thinks that motivate and thinks that discourage.

There are thinks that build me up and thinks that crumble me to the ground.

There are thinks I think of doing and thinks that do on their own.

There are thinks I engage and thinks I avoid.

There are thinks I want to have and thinks that seem to taunt me.

There are thinks I hope to have and thinks that linger long past their usefulness.

It seems my thinks are here to stay.

Thankfully, I know they are not all that is me…they are just my thinks…just resting in a small crevasse of my being…

…and it is okay to let some get away.


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Practice Makes Progress

Every chance I get I practice. I practice kindness. I practice patience. I practice forgiveness. I practice equity. I practice with myself and I practice with others.

In a space of curiosity and playfulness, I simply practice. Practice creates a constant wave of evolution from where I was to where I am and leaves room for me to progress. It comes without any judgment about whether I have done enough or done it right.

Life is intended to be a practice, not a perfect….to make progress, not flawless ness…and to give you and me a chance to grow together.


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Collective Liberation

When I learn to let go of anger, you begin to feel ease.

When I stop shaming myself, you become less judgmental.

When I no longer let my past determine my future, you gain hope and excitement.

When I can forgive myself for every and any mistake, shortcoming, and perceived failure, you let go of regrets.

When I remain in a positive state, your fears begin to fade away.

When I unconditionally love myself through the darkness and fears that arise, I invite your inner light to shine.

When I love me, you love more.

When I free myself, I free you.


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In a hurry to go nowhere

Motion around me could easily create a distraction or even be perceived as a danger. Motion around me could be a sign that things are passing me by.

Or, motion could be a wonderful reminder to feel my own stillness, to watch without attachment, and not be in such a hurry to get somewhere.


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Going the Distance

I feel your heart beating next to mine even though miles away.

I know your moments of pain and sorrow even without hearing you cry.

On the gentle breeze that blows, I encounter great waves of relief, joy, and peace as they ebb and flow in you.

Even out of site I know you are there.

We may be physically distanced, but energetically, emotionally, socially, we are closer than ever before.

Physical distancing,

Social connecting.

Today we may just be closer than ever before.


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On Belonging

It is not discrimination I fear as much as dejection.

Discrimination says because you are different you do not fit in.

Dejection says because I don’t value you, you don’t belong.

We all deserve to feel we belong…and fit in.


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Enduring

Tolerance is not ignorance.

Just because I tolerate your actions does not mean I condone them.

It does not mean they do not wound me, make me bristle or rattle my confidence in my own internal guidance systems.

Tolerance simply means that I am giving you room to be you – to learn and teach us both through your actions – to allow us to explore anger and fear, but also know patience, compassion, and forgiveness.

Tolerance is grace flexing its muscles. Tolerance is the power of my will to know my truth and allow you to explore yours.


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Blossoming


bristled or spikey
soft or wispy
feelings bud and grow like flower blossoms
designed to attract
designed to protect
all showing up as the latest projections of my unfinished stories
all modeling the birth of new beliefs 
that I am free to cut 
or stop and take in
all the exquisite manifestation of who I think I am and who I know I can be
all beautiful
regardless of the adjectives I attach to their existence


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Slowly Shining Brighter

I am the moon, ever-changing, cast in the shadows and light of the sun and the adjacent stars.
Some days I might shine brightly. Some days I show more darkness.
To make things more complicated, clouds may obstruct your view of me. Your light and the light closest to you may dull my shine.
I may also choose to shine by light that becomes explosive, that combusts when it meets your atmosphere.
I may take on many faces and seem unpredictable, perhaps even volatile at times. Other times, I am distant, cool, and elusive.
Whatever light surrounds me, whatever stars I close to align with, it is just for this moment so that you and I can play with this light and these shadows.  
I do it all in the hopes that you will still see me through it all, reflecting light and absorbing darkness so that you can get to know me even better with each moment we share together.
In that space between the light and the dark, there is a great place of hope, grace, and love where we all can learn to slowly shine brighter.