Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Peace & Resilience

Tag Archives: joy


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Strutting and Swirling

My heart feels quickly, as if flowing on subtle currents in the air. Ego moves faster, thrusting against the wind. Emotions lag behind but still they dance closely together, ego and feelings.

Guided by the dance, I strut and swirl around with urgency, bravado, and sprawling feathers. Responding to surface winds, impulsively flying in a defensive posture, these auto-pilot movements are built on the residue of my stories.

Something shifts and suddenly I am still. For a moment, my intuition takes the lead. There is no need for flight , no rush to action. I know all I need to know as I slow these frenetic motions.

I land. I unruffle. In the not-doing, I am even more than I was just moments before. I hang here in the peace and stillness of slow-looking.

When I land, I am my most powerful.


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Finding Joy

I love finding joy in unusual places.

In the raindrop that pokes my cheek and the wind that tosses my hair.

In the pattern of seeds that accidentally scatter on the floor.

In the slow looking that comes with the crowd of cars extending my commute.

In the exhale.

Here I am in my natural state of being. I feel no urgency, only a sense of calm and strength. I begin to know the essence of love.

Maybe finding joy is my super power.


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Just Ripe

When I am balanced mind and body, I am just ripe. There is no bitterness, no tough skin to cut through. I am neither too soft and falling apart.

Picked too soon, I am raw, needy, unready. Left to ripen too long and I begin to sour and decay.

Perfectly cultivated and connected to my core, I am a source of sustenance, giving flavor and nourishment without expecting anything in return.

Delicious, sweet and juicy, is what you get when I give myself ample time on the vine.


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Eclipsed

At my core, there is a fiery hot center, a burning ember that stokes my will, drives to protect me, and provides great strength.

When guided by my intuition that fire burns bright as the sun in the distance, like a gentle warrior claiming victory through kindness and compassion.

When led by ego, it becomes blinding and oppressive, randomly erupting in all directions.

That is when I call upon the moon.

The moon with its still darkness brings calm, restores balance. Gathering and redirecting the excessive sun energy, the moon cools the fire to a soft, gentle glow once more.

The mist of ego retreats and the inner wisdom once more shines humbly.

The moon provides just the right light for me to see my way.

Inside, bright and shining. Outside soft and calm.

Harnessing the strength of the sun and the peace of the moon, I am whole once more.


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Less labeling, more living

I no longer have weekdays and weekends. I simply have days.

I no longer have good days or bad days. I simply have days.

Some days feel heavier and on those days I go slow.

Some days feel lighter and on those days I shine a bit brighter.

Whether heavy or light, I live fully and freely in each day.

It feels better to live without labels.


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Swimming with the Rip Tide

Instinctively, as I get caught in the tugging, dragging, pulling pressure of the rip tide, I tense, tighten, and fight for control. I can’t see it but I struggle violently against this force that seems bigger than me. Then, just when all seems hopeless, I let go. I allow the tide to carry me.

Suddenly now I am floating on its surface instead of kicking against its hold on me. Instead of feeling I have lost control, I trust the waters to carry me.

Just then the fighting stops. When I release the resistance, I gain my freedom.

The current carries me farther and farther out but I relax more and more into the rocking motion of the water and the excitement of going somewhere new.

And then the current changes. I gradually float closer to the shore. I arrive not in the same place but still me, having lost nothing by giving up that control.

I stand at the water’s edge now wondering what other hidden currents are calling me to let go of resistance in order to arrive at some place new.


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To be the Mountain

What is it to be the mountain?

To stand strong, deeply rooted in the earth, proudly displaying your majesty and power.

Or, to bow humbly, providing the contrast to the sky and the scaffolding on which the sky balances, sprawls, and expands.

It is our role as teachers and leaders of today’s children to do both. To stand strong, firmly rooted in our values and beliefs, and at the same time submit to the greater knowing that resides in our children as we invite them to sprawl and expand into their own greatness, feeling only our love and trust as we remain firmly planted under them, fully supporting them exactly as they are.