Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience


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Both

Feeling goodness.

Recognizing capacity for love and joy…

and pain and sorrow…

and confusion and disappointment…

Offering laughter and playfulness…

tears and aching.

Ever grateful.

Still longing.

Inviting.

Learning to receive.

Faith,

not hope,

guides discovery.

Recurring smiles

share space with unsettled emptiness,

offering glimpses of spaciousness.

Trust becomes the compass point,

as surrender calls.

Not giving up,

but diving in.

Relinquishing the tight reins of control

to allow the fullness of life to unfold on its own.

Turning towards the depths of the oceans of stability within,

to exist within it all.

Grateful for this artwork generously created and shared by Matt Buncik.


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Unearthing

Murky are the surface waters,

Cold and dark, the mud feels heavy.

Abundant are the obstacles to expanding outward.

Unforgiving crevices entice, yet lead nowhere.

Solitary feels this existence.

And still it is called home.

An unknown force – courage perhaps – fuels a simple cell to activate.

A small stirring and restriction becomes the road map.

Containment provides clarity.

Movement replaces stagnation.

This incubation over.

Growth has begun.

Subtly and silently, a leaf

and then a petal.

More and more petals.

Surfacing.

Outstretching.

Unfolding.

Without ceremony.

So Beautiful.

The blossoming that reveals itself from under the mud and muck.


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Excitement

It begins with a small sliver,

Cresting the horizon.

Barely noticeable at first,

There is a stirring.

Sparks popcorn through the air.

A simultaneous stillness

Accompanied by a deep and profound desire to dance.

Masked by trees, clouds,

And preoccupied vision,

She goes unnoticed at first,

Simply climbing, filling, growing,

Not making any promises 

Not asking to be seen.

The wise ones feel her arrival.

And whether attuned or not,

prepared or not, 

receptive or not,

She makes her presence known.

Slowly shining more and more brightly,

Occupying more and more space,

Until she cannot be ignored

She ripples through your veins,

She invites wonder and awe.

She offers a compass point through the darkness,

Never imposing a path,

Simply holding the space,

Subtly encouraging your heart

To unlock in ways

Never imagined.

Photo by Jean McDonald


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Multiple Truths

My capacity is larger than my hurt.

The tear rolls down my cheek, 

just a fraction of the bigger me.

Full and brimming and yet still quite small.

I feel both at the same time,

my tear

and my breath,

my breath

and my heart,

my heart

and my strength.

I can hold grief and gratitude.

Love and disappointment.

Compassion and boundaries.

Sadness and peace.


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Step by step

Learning to step 

without overstepping,

or stepping back.

Learning to care

without caring

about results.

Learning to feel

with feeling

instead of thought.

Learning to differentiate

between true joy

and fleeting excitement.

Cultivating peace

over emptiness 

in the stillness.

Learning that love 

is a state of being.


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At the root of it all

I can no more be in or out of love 

than I can be in or out of my body,

or my breath.

Love is not something temporary,

to be chased,

or clung to.

Love is the essence of freedom,

self expression, and connection.

Love is a state of being

that allows all else to exist.


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Changing states

Reflecting your sparkle,

Your joy,

Your light.

Reflecting your goodness,

Grace,

Humility,

Kindness,

And love,

Until you cannot help

but to absorb

the characteristics you think you see in me

As what they really are,

Simply awakened parts of you.

Replacing reaction with reflection.


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Ready

Grounded in lightness.

Free to expand.

Confident in choice.

Clear in direction.

Comfort in stillness.

Peace in the quiet.

Steady in heart.

Safe in this breath.


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Porous

Recognizing without conforming.

Allowing without absorbing.

Flowing effortlessly between the inner and outer world.

Uniquely connected.

Discerning without differentiating.

Stepping out of the rigid container of familiar and safe 

to freely exercise vulnerability and authenticity.

Curious.

Open to the new and opposing.

Existing within this thin permeable membrane.

Maintaining sense of self. 

Living deeply and authentically.