Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience


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Conviction

If our morals and beliefs suggest that we should all

love,

support,

and guide one another,

then wouldn’t true,

authentic

moral conviction

show up in the form of

grace

and forgiveness,

not shackles?

A calling back of the misguided to the embrace of

patience and gentleness,

not humiliation

and chastisement.

The invitation

to not be isolated,

but to come closer.

To take accountability.

To grieve in communion

for the loss

of others wounded by their actions

and

for their own internal suffering.

To wail in the arms of

a community

that shoulders mistakes,

missteps,

and misdeeds,

with understanding and humility,

no matter how egregious

on the surface.

To shed tears together to cleanse,

not punish,

embrace,

not discard,

teach,

not convict.


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Peace of the Heart

In the space of silence and stillness,

there is an enormous void,

fabulous,

wide open,

freeing.

Or hollow,

isolating,

lonely?

It is one space.

In encountering this space,

there is a choice made instantly.

Inquiry,

assessment,

judgment

all rush in to

analyze,

identify,

interpret.

The recoiling in the stark emptiness is natural –

that moment when the stillness startles and unnerves as it presses against the constricting familiar.

And, each and every time,

that space can be met with

curiosity or fear,

acceptance or resistance.

It is the potentiality that resides in the peace of the heart.

It is a choice to receive it

as a gift

or a challenge

when feeling so fully

and completely

into ourselves.


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Apart or whole

Gnarled or free flowing.

Grasping or outstretched.

From its center point,

form expands in two directions,

mirrored in the spread of itself confidently into the earth

and it’s expansion courageously into the air.

Nourishment flowing.

Survival impossible without the reflections

of grounding,

of stretching,

of growth,

of change.

One feeding the other,

feeding the other.

Separate in apparent function.

Symbiotic existence as one.


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Listen to the feeling

The abundance of the universe surrounds me,

an endless supply of successes and challenges.

I always have the choice which way I turn.

Signs and signals.

Distractions and dilutions.

Stop looking to the outside for answers.

Trust the intuitive process of discernment and distinguishing.

There are no bad choices,

merely different ways to play in the field.

I can stay here or I can move towards something else.

Forcing narrows the focus,

and breeds striving,

limiting potential,

and resulting in tension and confusion.

Grace and patience fuel clarity

as trust flows into and from decisions to open opportunities,

not always challenge-free but solution-oriented.

Seeking the solutions

that inspire hope,

kindle kindness,

and support the expression of deepest passion

and purpose.

This is dharma.

This is the path of choice.


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Point of Reference

Oh, the wisdom and the entanglement of memories that accompany me

along the path of rising over resistance.

Cutting through the cords of debris from the past.

Mired in the mud of judgment and unmet expectations.

Stuck in the quagmire of fear.

The truth, like a sword, clears the rumination,

making way for the realization that

I can choose growth over stagnation,

healing over habits,

and triumph with awareness and agility,

as I change and make good,

drawing with power on my past.


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Chosen

Dark and heavy clouds fill the sky.

There is a moist, chilling feel in the air.

Worry, doubt, and greed swirl on the wind.

At the center of it all,

like an eye opening timidly from a long slumber,

a small space opens.

Unleashed absent effort,

unconditional,

unassuming,

extending unrestrainably outward,

an ancient healing balm,

a penetrating and permiating force,

stirs and

rises up.

It moves and shifts,

overcoming,

discerning,

dissolving,

and shifting.

Without seeking,

or striving,

it appears,

almost effervescently,

greeting all of the

anguish,

pain,

and

suffering

with gentle kindness,

patience,

humility,

and peace.

Love moves from within,

chosen

to be

seen,

felt,

and heard.

.


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Barely hanging on

Precariously perched on outstretched limbs of past experiences.

Formed of familiar coping mechanisms.

Unable to adapt to the changing conditions.

Heavy with the weight of others bearing down.

Recognizing the temporary nature of this existence.

One swift gust of wind.

One sudden yank from gravity.

All semblance of control,

all sense of purpose and being, melts away

in the free fall.

Crashing into the next newest version of self.


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Allow Me

Root my grounding cord deep into the earth.

Open my mind to the wisdom of the universe.

Flow endless love and joy through the river of my heart.

Fuel me with confidence and clarity.

Allow me to be a humble reservoir of harmony and balance,

in the space between earth and sky,

in this space of being human.


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Showing up

I can.

I will.

I am.

Because someone needs it.

My voice,

my intellect,

my pulchritude,

my courage,

my strength,

my kindness,

my grace,

deserve to be

seen,

heard,

felt,

held.

I will make a big, beautiful, bold, magnificent mark on the world…

Because I already have.

Flock to my greatness.

Celebrate me.

Show me pure,

authentic,

loyal,

sweet,

daring,

unconditional love,

the same way I am showing up for you in this world.


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Flourishing

Are the flowers each their own?

Are their petals each their own?

To whom do the seeds and leaves belong?

Do they come together to complete the plant?

Is the plant completing them?

Are the flowers extensions of the plant?

Could one survive without the other?

Each part grows uniquely,

in its own special way,

and still, they all contribute to something bigger.

Each part is invited to do their own work,

and to serve one another.

Each part seems separate

and yet only together

do they truly flourish.