Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience

Category Archives: power


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Jagged Edges

Tucked into the crevices,

Buried between the rocks and sand,

Are little moments,

Precious little glimpses of life’s greatest gifts hiding just beneath the surface.

I could easily pass them by if not for the jagged edges that reach up, poking at my being.

This uneven landscape calls for greater awareness.

I draw upon my deepest core for balance so that the pressure and discomfort do not become too great.

Those jagged edges remind me that I have not chosen the easy path, but I am capable of walking this path just the same.

Those jagged edges belong to the moments that will require the greatest courage and persistence, but unquestionably will cause rise to the fullest form of me.


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Strutting and Swirling

My heart feels quickly, as if flowing on subtle currents in the air. Ego moves faster, thrusting against the wind. Emotions lag behind but still they dance closely together, ego and feelings.

Guided by the dance, I strut and swirl around with urgency, bravado, and sprawling feathers. Responding to surface winds, impulsively flying in a defensive posture, these auto-pilot movements are built on the residue of my stories.

Something shifts and suddenly I am still. For a moment, my intuition takes the lead. There is no need for flight , no rush to action. I know all I need to know as I slow these frenetic motions.

I land. I unruffle. In the not-doing, I am even more than I was just moments before. I hang here in the peace and stillness of slow-looking.

When I land, I am my most powerful.


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Flying above the hurricane

In the midst of the storm, I feel small and helpless. There is fear that the storm will overcome me.

I know of the danger in advance, but I ignore the warnings to back away. Instead, I hunker down. That is when the floods start, conflict swirls in all directions and visibility is reduced to nothing.

My heart pounds. I struggle to catch my breath, to make logical choices, and to know how to care for me and those around me.

And then I remember back to the time when as the hurricane developed I watched it from above. I saw it’s wild bands expanding, its dark center churning. From above I could see its boundaries. From above I noticed clusters of calm, bright sky swirling in the darkness.

In every storm since, I have acknowledged that I have a choice to turn away and even when I neglect that choice, I can find calm within the bands of chaos if I can just remember flying above it.


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Finding Joy

I love finding joy in unusual places.

In the raindrop that pokes my cheek and the wind that tosses my hair.

In the pattern of seeds that accidentally scatter on the floor.

In the slow looking that comes with the crowd of cars extending my commute.

In the exhale.

Here I am in my natural state of being. I feel no urgency, only a sense of calm and strength. I begin to know the essence of love.

Maybe finding joy is my super power.


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Just Ripe

When I am balanced mind and body, I am just ripe. There is no bitterness, no tough skin to cut through. I am neither too soft and falling apart.

Picked too soon, I am raw, needy, unready. Left to ripen too long and I begin to sour and decay.

Perfectly cultivated and connected to my core, I am a source of sustenance, giving flavor and nourishment without expecting anything in return.

Delicious, sweet and juicy, is what you get when I give myself ample time on the vine.


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Eclipsed

At my core, there is a fiery hot center, a burning ember that stokes my will, drives to protect me, and provides great strength.

When guided by my intuition that fire burns bright as the sun in the distance, like a gentle warrior claiming victory through kindness and compassion.

When led by ego, it becomes blinding and oppressive, randomly erupting in all directions.

That is when I call upon the moon.

The moon with its still darkness brings calm, restores balance. Gathering and redirecting the excessive sun energy, the moon cools the fire to a soft, gentle glow once more.

The mist of ego retreats and the inner wisdom once more shines humbly.

The moon provides just the right light for me to see my way.

Inside, bright and shining. Outside soft and calm.

Harnessing the strength of the sun and the peace of the moon, I am whole once more.


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Hold Out Your Hand

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As you navigate the path of life, never forget how special you are, how worthy you are of love.  Of self-love.

Hold your own hand, cradle your own heart in your healing palms.  Feel the full bond of acknowledgement, acceptance, and allowing.

When you love yourself, all the other relationships in your life will thrive. No need for anything more.  For by loving yourself, you are loving all.

You are perfectly imperfect, divine and beautiful, whole in every aspect of you…just the way you are.

Love all of that, all of you, and the path will be clear.

 

[due to a publication glitch, the earlier version of this post was inadvertently deleted…apologies for any duplicity]


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Aware versus Analytical

I don’t need a “why.” I just need an “oh.”

Noticing something, my mind quickly jumps in to create a story.

I have this sensation. I will label it. I will now connect it to good or bad. My mind will attach it to a memory and define it as an experience.

How splendid it would be to just notice with curiosity, not the critical mind, as each thought occurs like drops of water. Inquisitively, I watch the water dripping, not seeking to explain its circumstance but simply present in its occurrence.

Awareness without analysis, knowledge for discovery, not proof or justification.

When I “oh” instead of “why”, I “be” instead of “do.”


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Less labeling, more living

I no longer have weekdays and weekends. I simply have days.

I no longer have good days or bad days. I simply have days.

Some days feel heavier and on those days I go slow.

Some days feel lighter and on those days I shine a bit brighter.

Whether heavy or light, I live fully and freely in each day.

It feels better to live without labels.


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Swimming with the Rip Tide

Instinctively, as I get caught in the tugging, dragging, pulling pressure of the rip tide, I tense, tighten, and fight for control. I can’t see it but I struggle violently against this force that seems bigger than me. Then, just when all seems hopeless, I let go. I allow the tide to carry me.

Suddenly now I am floating on its surface instead of kicking against its hold on me. Instead of feeling I have lost control, I trust the waters to carry me.

Just then the fighting stops. When I release the resistance, I gain my freedom.

The current carries me farther and farther out but I relax more and more into the rocking motion of the water and the excitement of going somewhere new.

And then the current changes. I gradually float closer to the shore. I arrive not in the same place but still me, having lost nothing by giving up that control.

I stand at the water’s edge now wondering what other hidden currents are calling me to let go of resistance in order to arrive at some place new.