No matter that anger laps at your feet,
No matter that fear and distrust appear to form walls around you,
No matter that hope feels smothered,
Spiral upwards, out of the ashes of perceived despair,
Fill the air with compassion.
As long as the flames of compassion dance,
We can know only peace and joy.
To know unconditionally is one thing.
To love unconditionally is another.
Spiraling upwards.
Energy lifting.
Feeling so blissful.
Finding my joy.
Sensing my balance.
Knowing my strength.
Freeing myself to be me.
Doing my best to blend in, but realizing I am just destined to stand out.
Dance like sunlight on the grass…paint an ever-changing pattern that stirs delight and marvel…and cast your shadow without bending a single blade of grass.
In the stillness of my breath, the pain goes away, life’s challenges lie outside of me, and I know true peace. In every breath, I am me, the me that exists beyond time and space, the infinite, radiant me, the me that I sometimes forget until I rest in the cradle of my breath.
I never thought of myself as adventurous…but then again when joy and goodness are in the driver’s seat, anything can happen…if you just let it. Put the peddle to the metal.
Contrast arises in our experiences as a guide. Like bread crumbs scattered on the path, contrast draws attention, redirecting us back to the path, pointing out the direction in which we should head so that we can find our way back to what nurtures and restores us.
When I am truly present, I feel each experience within my body. I receive it with my breath. I prod it with my thoughts and explore it with my feelings. Then, as I peel away these aspects of experience, these many layers of me, my inner wisdom welcomes that experience, absorbing it like a sponge, until that experience becomes me.
When the layers dissolve, all that I experience is me.
Can I open my mind without thoughts rushing in? Can I clear the path and feel expansive and light when all my thoughts and feelings seem so dense and heavy? I focus on my breath — its softness, its calm and gentle assertiveness as it moves through my body — and I begin to notice the light, to feel the freedom, to be the quiet…to know the peace of just being. On my breath, the fog lifts and I expand beyond.
Monday Mindfulness 