Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience

Category Archives: self-love


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Am I?

Am I’m the only one dancing?

The only one smiling for no particular reason at all?

Am I the only one pausing to catch the sparkle of light dodging in and out of the branches of the trees?

Is it my ears alone that hear the ripples and gurgling of the creek

And the silence of the snow?

Does only my heart jump and my belly jiggle with laughter as the squirrel tries to carry the nut too big for its mouth

And the duck rolls over in the pond with its rather ungraceful landing?

Am I the only in awe of the fullness of the warmth of the sun as it caresses my face?

Am I the only one that delights as raindrops dance across my head and body?

Am I the only one who feels the love of all creation wrap around me and hold me tight every time I pause to be still and rest?

Am I the only one brought to tears of joy in the beauty of it all?


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Branching Out

Today I want to be a tree,

providing steadiness and sturdiness in the world,

receiving assuredness and ease,

knowing precisely where I stand.

Anchored in the strength of the earth.

Expanding gently, respectfully and gratefully into the air and space of others.

I want to be a source of clearing of thoughts,

feelings,

worries,

suffering,

not absorbing it as my own,

simply removing the impurities and toxins.

I want to breathe in and receive

the light

the water

the nourishment of family and friends

the success of work

the richness of creation.

to feel my beautiful roots and my capacity to grow endlessly upward and outward.

I embrace the simultaneously simple and complex nature of me

Inviting gratitude and joy as my guides

Growing ever stronger and steadier in who I am

and how I show up in the world.


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Oh, beautiful body

I feel the greatness in your

growing, breaking, mending, carrying, holding, transporting, containing, connecting, relaying, transmitting, receiving, processing, absorbing, rejecting, integrating, mutating, protecting, defending, expressing, mobilizing, representing,

existing

just for me.

It is with exceptional gratitude that I celebrate your magnificence, always accommodating, rebuilding, recoiling.

Today, in this stillness, I send you life force,

out to your very edges from the deepest, purest center of my being.

Feel me in your heart,

warm, glowing, thriving, existing with and within you.

Such a cherished gift you are and have been all these many years.

May I never forget your devotion, consistency, and capacity to endure and co-create this being.


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Dearest One

Don’t wait for them to see the richness and uniqueness – see it yourself…

Unwind your tangled perception of you…

Enjoy the where you are and the where you will be, each full of challenges and delights…

Please love yourself just a little more…you are harder on yourself than anyone else ever could be…

Do all things because they feel good and nurture you not because they are “right” or provide a shield from the deep dark thoughts and feelings that face you…

Fearlessly take the hands of hurt and pain and walk with them for a bit, let them guide you out of the darkness until together you find the space to release each other…

Take your time in the process of caring for you above all else…slow down and tend to each and every element of you as if massaging a baby tenderly with the balm of divine love…

Feel grateful for the ease and healing in every breathe…

Move your body with the joy and freedom it was designed for…

You, my friend, are made of love and all those with truest loving eyes will see that and that is all that matters…

Turn your truest loving eyes towards your own heart and hold it sweetly, love it dearly, and this will be enough.

Photo compliments of Pauline Campbell.


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Fearless Living

Once there was an old belief that said,

“I am afraid…afraid of hurting others because I feel their hurt as if my own…hurting others jeopardizes my relationships and in that I run the risk of feeling their anger or worse, their scorn and disappointment. It is better to deny my joy than risk upsetting theirs.”

For a long, long time that belief walked confidently along its path unhindered. One day, it stumbled on that well worn path upon a rock of joy. It tripped over pebbles of power, and fell upon a bolder of truthfulness. As the belief lost its balance, it fell into a net of beautiful jewels all connected by a golden thread of love, of creativity, kindness, and great joy.

The belief grasped at the edges of the path, grappled with the sensation of free falling, longing for the predictable order of its existence. In the blinding beauty of the sparkling jewels, the belief had no choice but to release its fear, to drop into the wide and open net, to be held by a greater force in the space of free will and joy.

Gradually, the belief allowed itself to let go of the path and discovered its power to attract truthfulness and joy. It found that in that vibration there was no room for fear, hurt, or loneliness…only love.


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Free Will, Free Me

When I am afraid, I just need to pause.

When I am tired, I just need to soften.

When in doubt, I open my hands and stretch my fingers to let go of the burdens I am carrying.

It’s time to release the bags full of insecurity, judgment, and uncertainty,

to relieve that heavy weight off my shoulders,

unlock my hips, knees and feet

and walk confidently into the less than clear,

the less than perfect,

the unknown.

I will be patient with myself and with others.

In that patience I will grow confidence.

I will seek compassionate words that promote truth to foster ease, healing, and happiness in myself and others.

I will not need approval,

and in fact,

I will revel in my stumbling.

I will cultivate pauses to inquire,

and to see the unknown

not as daunting,

but as freeing.

The only thing I will hold onto

is the hand of the little child within me.

Seeking love and assurance from within,

I will open my hands, spread my fingers and let everything else go.

I will no longer grasp limitations that hinder my ability to see and be grateful,

that mask the abundance before me,

the joy within me,

my capacity for unconditional peace and love,

and my ability to know in the unknown.


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Resentment

I didn’t listen to myself.

I didn’t present myself clearly.

My primary goal to avoid conflict,

I jeopardized my safety to ensure my survival.

And just like that I feel devalued.

My experience is in direct contrast with my values.

I chose inner conflict rather than anger.

Oh, I get angry, but I turn it all on me,

Suppressing outward expression out of fear,

For the sake of compliance.

Meeting the needs of others supplants

My capacity to meet my own needs.

Sacrificing my internal sense of security for connection

Causes an internal disconnection between my own heart and mind.

My body bristles at the assault and becomes a harbor for my anger

Disappointment surfaces as dis-ease and lingers

In my consciousness and beyond.

Suddenly, the sweet voice within that I so defiantly ignored

Grabs my full attention as it says,

“You did your best…

And they did too.”

“You are capable of keeping yourself safe now.

Be strong, consistent, and clear.

Make choices that preserve your freedom and safety.

Love yourself above all else

And you will never have to sacrifice your values for security.”

A new state of being immerges

Free of disappointment

Free of feeling wronged, hurt, and weak.

Free of resentment.

Free to be grateful.

Free to forgive.

Free of burdens

and unconditionally loved.


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Go on now

You need more kindness,

More faith,

And joy,

To know the world is

simply your toy.

Reject the harshness,

Judgment,

And shame.

To love and nourish is

Our only aim.

Fill up your reservoir

With gentleness

And peace

To guide your inner Self

Through this life with ease.

Remove the barriers

That block out

Hope

And light.

To know your power is

Your natural right.

Wield not your actions,

sabres,

Or words.

Take flight with kindness,

Free like the birds.

You are magnificent

Just as

You are

Formed of the mystery

Within that twinkling star.

So go on and shine

Yourself

Bright for all to see

To be the love and joy that

This world does need.


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Exploration

Is it a challenge…or a surprise?

Is it a set back…or an opportunity?

Is it a loss…or a lesson?

Is it feedback…or criticism?

Is it something worth exploring or a boundary that needs to be set?

All of my experiences are open to interpretation and I am free to make them whatever I choose.

There is plenty of room for suffering and pain, as well as creativity, joyfulness, and gratitude…

all there in every experience just waiting to be explored and to inform.


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Reflections

How often I stand in this being of me, just not sure what I see.

Insecurity on the inside

Appears as rejection on the outside.

Longing for love and positive connections

Show up as judgment and disappointment from others.

Feelings of shame and inadequacy

Manifest as attacks of anger and disgust.

The stories build not on what is really surrounding me but in the distorted view I have of the reflections.

My experiences and relationships are like a hall of mirrors.

The distortion produces more distortion until the internal and external judgment and criticism becomes too great to bear.

And then, I let go of the differences, weaknesses, faults.

I soften the gaze.

I let the edges of everything blur.

And then I see it is all just me.

I become curious not about what I see in the endless reflections in the mirrors, but in the source of the projection.