I wonder what my days would be if I only engaged beliefs that fuel my natural state of peace and joy.
What if I stopped taking on beliefs that don’t serve me – beliefs others have about me or what I think they think?
What if I were to just be…perfectly imperfectly me…and to stop being a belief thief?
Stand in the forest and just listen. You will hear the trees singing. It’s a quiet song that floats on the breeze as they gently sway in the currents of the air. Their song says “I love you…for all that is you…no matter what comes with you into the forest.” The trees welcome you, happy to have you there, just as you are.
Carry the kindness of the trees with you as you move through the jungle of life. Welcome all, just as it is. Then, feel the joy rise up in you that comes from this unconditional love. Feel the joy of being a tree swaying in the breeze, singing songs of love.
It’s the gnarled bark
the splintered edges
and the twisted growth
that craft the greatest character.
Receive every moment in your today as the perfect next ingredient in creating the one-of-a-kind, divinely delicious, cocktail that is you.
What if the darkest times, the largest struggles, and the greatest grief were treated as gold, jewels, and trinkets? A treasure box shoved deep down underneath brings richness, bright and full of promise when opened. Shadows that no longer remain hidden sparkle with hope, prosperity, and joy when realized as buried treasure.
The dark of night gives way to the brilliance of the morning sun.
Shadows peel back to reveal the light and then at times the light yields to the shadows.
They dance, taking turns at center stage, spotlighting each other’s beauty, celebrating each other’s gifts.
Both always there, bowing to one another, essential to each other’s greatness.
Thankful for the contrast.
Ease comes with contentment. When the heart is content, the flow of life is more easeful. Contentment takes practice. It come through the effort of letting go of expectations and judgment, of feeling whole and complete, and knowing that things are just as they should be – not always good, not always pleasant, but right the way they are. Contentment needs no story, no plan, no solution, simply a willingness to let life unfold with all its imperfections… and in that willingness resides the space of ease.
To receive it on the outside, achieve it on the inside.
Clouds of anger, judgment, and doubt that swirl within
Block the rays of love, acceptance and trust that shine without.
Peace on the inside…Peace on the outside.
There is just one of me – one body, one mind, one world.
Yet, when I am in the left side of my mind, my world is lined up in neat little rows of describers and stories that define all of my experiences, forming memories of the past and predictions for the future, a space of story-telling, label-making, and structure.
In the right side of my mind, I am larger, brighter, made of colors, shapes, and lacking concrete boundaries. When I step to the right, I feel free and open, joyful and full of peace. My world is expansive, allowing, and in so many ways limitless. In the right side of my mind, I am present and full of wonder, curiosity, and enjoyment.
I move back and forth from side to side, creating the dance that is me…but I do think I would be better off if I took a step to the right more often.
When the care is genuine, unconditional and free,
the eyes portray that authenticity.
When you truly love what you do and where you are,
the heart shines, the air softens, the eyes smile.
When you look into smiling eyes,
there you find hope, joy, inspiration.
Monday Mindfulness 