Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Peace & Resilience


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Decay

Sitting here amongst the relics of old memories and life experiences, the edges now crumbled, some barely recognizable in their origin, purpose or story.

Just formed yesterday or residue of my ancestors’ journeys, the structure erodes.

There is sadness and longing in the erosion.

As the structure of what was folds back into the landscape, the experiences of yesterday become the soft touch of wind on my skin, the journey of tomorrow the warm light in the sky before me,

I need nothing more than the light and wind to remind me of where I have been and where I might next go.

The memories eroding in my mind become the bedrock of my being.


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Pollinating

Moving from experience to experience, fertilizing each moment with the lingering imprint from where I have been.

Carrying just enough with me to grow a place to land tomorrow.

Taking my time right here and now to nourish and enjoy myself is the only way to ensure that enough of this experience sticks to me fruitfully.

Life flowers fully before me when I linger where I am and carry only the good stuff with me.


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At the center of my being

Right there, in between the meandering branches of my life,

the shifting sands of time,

the ebbing and flowing waters of my mind,

and the soft current that carries my heart,

there is a bright and constant light

that moves and shines through my existence,

the steady point that reminds and renews me over and over again,

guiding me back like a porch light,

to the warm, quiet, stillness of my eternal home within.

Photo credit: Brian Danahy (from the port of Mykanos, Greece)


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Budding freedom

Taking away someone’s freedom is the ultimate infringement on being.

When I impose my ideas, my values, and my beliefs on you, I limit your freedom.

When I think that any part of your mind, body, or spirit needs changing, I build barriers to your freedom.

When I create obstacles that exist from my assumptions and preconceptions and believe I do not have the power to change the way we co-exist, you cannot be free.

When I say I am powerless to impact your sense of freedom and that it is totally up to you, I am shirking my obligation to give you space to be free.

It is not just you that controls your ability to be free. If I lose sight of the light of love that shines in every one of us – in you and me – the light that has a right to shine – we cannot be free.

Today I vow to do my best to cultivate your liberation, your resilience and your fortitude, to be free.


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Lessons in Humility

How to be strong and vulnerable.

Look others in the eye.

Listen deeply.

Be Aware.

Allow.

Accept.

Fear less.

Laugh more.

Love.


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Ready to Receive

The more connected I am to you in compassion the more I realize my capacity to give and receive love.

It is in the receiving that I find connection to my higher knowing of my strengths and goodness, of my value and purpose, of harmony and grace.

Love me, but above all may I be capable of receiving that love.

For the love in me becomes the roots and branches of all that I am.


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Signs are Everywhere

Sometimes life really is as simple as following the messages around us to get back to the place within us to feel whole, loved, and enough.


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Walking

Life presents challenges.

Challenges confirm purpose.

Purpose is the path I walk.

I walk in purpose, not on purpose.

I walk this path not because I am supposed to

But because I chose this direction.

Together with challenge – in purpose – we move towards that which serves a greater good…

To love,

to serve,

to heal

freely.


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Contain Me

For each of us there is a layer that surrounds and holds our thoughts and feelings, that ties physical material existence to a sense of being. Built into the walls of that container are our beliefs, values, and desires, ever connected and blending with the feelings of others. These characteristics are what give the container strength but can also become places of vulnerability, weakness, and destruction. Stress fractures can begin to appear over time in the container where the values, beliefs, and habits are challenged, become inflexible and brittle.

Signs of wear or weakness are not markers of fault in the container, but a means for assessing whether repair or replacement could be useful. It may be the values and beliefs woven into that section are ready for reconditioning.

When I visualize the materials, tools, and mending — stitching the fabric, soldering the metal, molding the clay – and give myself permission to reshape the container, perhaps even layering different media, I can begin to fill and empty with experiences in a way that projects and protects the me I have come to be.


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Steadfast

When I become the mountain that I see in the distance, I feel my steadiness, my ability to withstand the currents of the winds and the torrents of rain. I may be walked upon by people, animals and time, yet the cracks, worn paths, and decay only add to my character and beauty.

I reach towards the sky never forgetting the love of the earth – the earth within me.

When I feel my true strength, I no longer need to be strong