Alone,
it rested
below the fresh
and blossoming
bouquet,
forgotten,
dropped.
As if it’s work was done,
the petal fell,
tired,
heavy,
worn.
It left the collective
where it had so faithfully held on,
believing that its beauty lay
in its contribution.
It could hold on no more.
It had to drop away.
It had to pull apart.
In its moment of letting go
and seeming it was done,
that petal
became
its most beautiful
version
of itself.
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.
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.
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.
I’m not always going to get my way,
but I’m always going to get what’s right for me.
When I let go of forcing outcomes,
stop relying on others for my happiness,
and see obstacles not as a sign of my worth but of my courage and strength,
even what seems like a paralyzing blockage
can be an invitation to take a different path,
go a different way,
or sit right where I am for a moment
and reflect
on the beauty,
awe,
and opportunity
that exists right here,
right now,
just the way things are.
Much gratitude to Shari Irby for contributing this photo.
Releasing control.
Trusting me.
Allowing joy.
Presence
leading to
clarity.
Clarity
leading to
peace.
Slowing down
to launch forward.
Stepping into my light.
Where does it end,
the light from the sun
the light of the moon,
the dark of the shadows
the vastness of the sky,
cold of winter,
unfurling of spring?
Where is the line
that separates joy
from sorrow,
excitement
from fear?
What fills the space between earth and sky?
Is it my heart?
My body?
My breath?
In my mind I struggle
to find a separation,
an either or,
a division,
a moment,
where one exists without the other.
I cannot
and therefore
I cannot regret.
I cannot long.
I cannot judge,
right or wrong.
I cannot reject sorrow
or long for joy.
I cannot suffer in darkness or immerse myself fully in light.
I am made of it all.
It is all in me.
Or is none of it?
I am the space that fills
the space between.
I am the end of light,
the beginning of dark.
I am all of the joy and filled with sorrow.
I am the convergence of earth and sky.
I am the meeting place for it all.
I am the “and.”
Bursting with excitement.
Tempted by fear.
To hold back.
To bring less of my
intelligence,
beauty,
creativity,
power
so as not to overwhelm them.
But they feel it anyway.
They want it.
And there is a good chance they won’t be able to handle it.
But that shouldn’t stop me
from being all that I am.
My allness
is ready
to bloom,
in all
of
its
magnificence.
What if overflowing is just full enough?
Can empty overflow?
What if stillness is found in movement?
Belonging resides within one’s own heart?
Could need be an illusion, and
Beauty be best seen with the eyes closed?
What if love is a natural state of being and everything else a mistruth?
Receiving,
feeling,
all
in
love,
creates not overwhelm,
but allows joy.
What if what we need seek nothing to experience the state of being whole?
Tomorrow is not promised.
Align and open to the greatest gifts of today.
Open to your strengths.
Hold your wounds and weaknesses as reminders.
If you can remember these, you can remember you are something more.
You are something so much more.
Monday Mindfulness 