Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Peace & Resilience

Category Archives: present moment


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The Way

Standing on the precipice, mountains before me and behind me, I contemplate briefly the ascent or decent into the unknown.

No worries that the fog hinders my view because I feel my feet. I know that each moment, step by attuned step, I will find the earth and the sure footing that only comes with internal clarity.

Like the goat that climbs the rocks and edges of the cliffs with certainty, I approach the present, with the same attention to which I have all too often focused on my future and my past.

Looking back and looking forward the fog distorts the view. The lack of clarity forces me to see here, only that which is right in front of me.

In this moment, I put my hooves to the ground. I see the steps I need to take right here and now. I do not need to see the mountains in the foreground to know my way.


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On a branch

Let’s just meet on a little branch somewhere,

nestled in between the flowers,

shaded by a tall leafy tree.

We can find a little nourishment,

share a little love,

not limited by the constructs of time

or burdened by emotions or heavy thoughts.

Let’s meet on a little branch somewhere

and consider doing this more often.


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The Power

Rolling in, rolling out.

The waves may be big. The waves may be small.

There may be great space between or a quickness that causes me uneasiness.

For a moment I feel unsteady, unable to trust. Is it the waves or is it me I doubt?

I soften and focus my awareness.

I find a rhythmic ebb and flow within.

Doubt disappears as my internal rhythms take over. I settle into the flow.

I create the ease that I crave. I am not the waves.

I am not the fear.

I am the power behind it all.


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Likeness to Lillies

I imagine to the universe we are much like day lilies,

endless varieties,

no two alike.

Ages in the making,

we are relatively predictable in our growing,

blooming just for an instant.

The landscape of our world is ever changed by each little bud and blossom as it pops briefly open and vanishes instantly, leaving just its memory imprinted on the wind in its unique and lasting fragrance.


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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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Here and Now

Fear is born of the past.

Worry is tied to the future.

In the stillness of this moment

fully present

there is joy.

Instead of trying to form my being

If I allow myself to be

I find joy.


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Cloaked

Whether by myself or with many,

Warm or cold,

In a place familiar or the unknown,

At the moment I begin to feel disconnected,

I wrap myself in my memories and experiences,

The times when I felt or longed for love,

And those precious moments I encountered,

even if just briefly,

the unconditional essence of my being,

Always there, all ways there.

Cloaked in this love, I am never alone.


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At the Starting Line

Today I begin again…not as a punishment or starting over but launching from a new starting line.

To begin again is to feel into an experience in a new way and invite…and then allow… an unexpected outcome.

To joyously and curiously invite variety, spontaneity, and change in such a way as to begin again and begin again, freely cultivating an openness to the unknown while at the same time feeling stable, connected, confident, and grounded.

To begin again is to be fully present, wildly open, and happy in every moment.


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Does size matter?

When the energy in a situation gets big do you get bigger?

When the energy gets big, do you get littler?

Neither is right or wrong, they just produce different effects.

Where I match the energy carefully and skillfully in its bigness, riding the inhale to its peak, I can take that energy by the hand and usher it to a more stable space.

When I remain small in the big energy I model a means to come back to center, a way to arrive home on the wave of the exhale.

So I can choose whether to breathe in and ride up or breathe out and come back. Where I get into trouble is if I only head one way and forget that there is an inhale and an exhale in every encounter and that big and little are compliments as much as contrasts.


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For a Smoother Takeoff

“Prepare your doors for departure and cross check, please” said the pilot before departing the gate.

How often in our daily lives do we launch without proper preparation?

The brief pause to transition from one moment to the other – to conduct a cross check and prepare for what comes next – provides clarity, confidence, and confirmation that I am ready to move forward.

This cross check also eliminates potential danger and reduces the likelihood of unfortunate outcomes.

On the rhythm of every breath lies the opportunity to prepare for departure, to make wiser choices, and be ready for what lies ahead.

And, with that next exhale, looking keenly and calmly ahead, I softly whisper, “Cross check complete.”