Monday Mindfulness

Cultivating Strength, Joy, Calm & Resilience


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The Tunnel

The air turns cool.

Sound becomes distorted.

Sight goes offline.

Simultaneous smallness and vastness set in.

Swaddled simplicity meets rattled uncertainty.

The compass loses its point of focus,

directionality irrelevant.

Bending and moving through unfamiliar spaces,

offering lessons in courage,

the darkness is only temporary.


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Conviction

If our morals and beliefs suggest that we should all

love,

support,

and guide one another,

then wouldn’t true,

authentic

moral conviction

show up in the form of

grace

and forgiveness,

not shackles?

A calling back of the misguided to the embrace of

patience and gentleness,

not humiliation

and chastisement.

The invitation

to not be isolated,

but to come closer.

To take accountability.

To grieve in communion

for the loss

of others wounded by their actions

and

for their own internal suffering.

To wail in the arms of

a community

that shoulders mistakes,

missteps,

and misdeeds,

with understanding and humility,

no matter how egregious

on the surface.

To shed tears together to cleanse,

not punish,

embrace,

not discard,

teach,

not convict.


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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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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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Seeds of Desire

Across the barren soil of imagination are strewn seeds of desire.

They float through the air like translucent orbs, barely noticeable.

Gradually, they land, softly burrowing into the jagged and uneven ground before them.

They are compelled to nestle in,

trusting that as they are swallowed up by the soil somehow this is what they need to grow.

And so they make themselves small, quiet and still,

compelled to sprout in time,

willing to grow slowly with care.

They will face the drought of unworthiness,

resistance as they break through and change the barren land,

impatience as they require much tending before they produce any flowers or fruit,

and fear that they may not survive at all.

The patient gardener knows this.

With an eye on the potential magnificence, beauty, and need for these seeds to flourish,

nurturing instead of forcing.

Waiting joyfully,

the gardener balances hope with knowing,

confident that with proper care, attention, consistency, and flexibility,

in due time these seeds will fully grow into their potential

and from them will come more translucent orbs ready to contribute to the wildest, most beautiful, richest landscape imaginable.