Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience

Category Archives: self-help


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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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Tidal Flow

Fresh water mixes with salt.

The gateway brackish,

murky,

churning.

Swimming against the angry currents of

struggle,

despair,

and loss.

Riding the tides with

flexibility

and fortitude,

trust

and patience.

Constantly changing conditions stir hope and determination.

Survival requires adaptability.

Leaving the familiar marshes of the small, quiet stream

to swim in the wide open playground of the ocean.

This choice

a devotion.

This river of tears

leads to an ocean of joy.


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Full court press

Curled up in a tiny ball,

breath pressing against muscles and bones heavy with the weight of not knowing.

The voice trying to find its footing,

wanting so desperately to be guided to its answers by the outside,

knowing it must dig deep and mine its own direction authentically from within.

In between each sigh,

a tear drops to the floor,

the only sign of motion

in this otherwise still

and down thrown body.

The simultaneous fullness

and emptiness

pulling at its core.

To be all

and

nothing.

Not afraid

to be afraid.


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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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Battle fatigue

The field is bloodied.

Swords scattered and strewn.

In the distance, flowers bloom and a river runs cool and deep.

Who are the victors and what have they gained?

What have the defeated truly lost?

Conflict is inevitable but the results are a choice.

To be a victor without gloating.

To be defeated without wallowing.

To receive and face all that comes without fear.

Each day I have the potential to find strength,

balance,

and humility,

regardless of which end of the sword I face.


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Unchanged

At the heart of all is love.

At the heart of me is love.

It’s ok to be skeptical.

No need to be clear or believe it,

And it’s still true.

Everything is working for me.

I need not soften into the knowing.

I can breathe and stand in this,

or I can struggle and resist,

and it will still happen – I am being.

I occupy this space, knowing that no one occupies this space like me.

Big or small,

tall or coiled,

heavy or light,

bold or shy,

free or bound.

The heart of me remains unchanged.

The heart of you remains unchanged.

The heart of all remains of love.


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Regal Seagull

I fly out over the waves I call my home in search of nourishment.

In my seeking, I drift farther and farther from my nest.

Eventually, I am too tired to go on.

As I land, I find completely unfamiliar surroundings.

So unnerving, the experience of stepping out of the familiar, even when it’s for my own survival.

Do I retrace my steps and return to what was and where I came from, scavenging and settling for the scraps?

Do I settle into this new space and look ahead, embracing the unfamiliar and uncertain?

I can turn back or I can stand on these new shores.

I can forage and discover.

I pause and tuck under my wings where I find a consistent space of solace and reassurance,

to rest, to calm, and regain focus,

Here, I remember that to truly nourish myself,

I just may need to take flight and perch on new frontiers.


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Assured

In this moment,

I set down expectations and any sense that I am not already successful.

I am comfortable, confident, clear.

I replace striving with thriving.

I feel a flood of grace, ease, and acceptance.

Assuredness steps in to remind me that I don’t need to overcome.

I simply need to become.


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Interpretations

The wind determines what I hear.

My eyes inform what I see.

The body interprets what I sense.

Thoughts form from what I hear, see, and feel as an experience.

Beliefs cling to these thoughts and this experience as truth,

setting emotions into action and reaction.

In reality, if there is such a thing, it is all just a choice, interpretation best when it comes not from my beliefs but in what I choose to believe.