self | Monday Mindfulness

February 6, 2023
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Let Me Be Clear

So many times I have wished for a window into the future, into the consequences of my choices.

Seeking certainty in my decisions, weighing my intuition against the feedback in my environment, just to be sure I am getting the best deal, walking the right path, doing the proper thing.

All along I have sought clarity to fuel my certainty. I thought that clarity would provide assurance as if my choices could ever be right or wrong.

The day I chose acceptance over assurance is the day I began to realize there are no good and bad choices, no right or wrong.

When I seek assurance in my choices, I am doubting my capacity to be flexible, creative, and resilient.

When I seek to accept my choices I engage compassion for myself and confidence that I will be ok no matter what choice I make.

December 26, 2022
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Reflections

I am an open landscape on which you paint your experience.

I mirror back to you just what you put out there.

If you aren’t sure of what you are painting,

pause,

step back,

clear your mind,

open your heart.

Come sit a spell in my grand, vast emptiness before you start to fill the canvas with elements that may not produce the landscape best for the both of us.

Tread gently on the rolling hills,

pause and watch the rising and setting sun,

see ocean…

flowers…

wild flowing grasses…

Deep wooded forests.

The landscape is yours in which to play.

Just remember that whatever you add to this landscape – the meeting of your choice of media, colors and textures – is yours to assimilate and accommodate, not mine.

December 12, 2022
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Never Alone

Harmony begins with

befriending myself.

Relying on me

to validate who I am.

Ready to stand today,

not alone,

but in my own-ness.

Seeking not to change

who you are

or have you define me.

Rather, changing my

perspective and

choosing with great care

relationships

that inspire

only

my own

vivacious,

joyful,

powerful,

truest

Self.

December 5, 2022
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A stone’s throw

To cross the stream, I search for stones that seem fixed despite the moving waters.

These stones suggest a level of safety in my crossing as they seen unmoved by the current,

stronger than I could be on my own.

Is the stream really too deep and forceful that I need the stones or

can I make the crossing?

I question my capacity to carry myself,

despite the quiet flash of reassurance in my belly suggesting I could navigate the waters just fine on my own.

I turn instead to the stones’ promise to hold me.

Without hesitation, I step wildly, quickly, with hope that they will be what they appear to be.

I put my trust completely in the stones

Only to find them unbalanced, slippery, unable to hold me, and

Depositing me completely and fully into the water.

My trust in the stones vanishes into the darkness.

I fight the current…the message…trust no one.

Suddenly the flash returns…trust…trust yourself.

It doesn’t have to be steady, clear, easy, or look a certain way.

I dive into the self-reliance that holds me, guides me, connects me with the edge of safety.

There in that moment I find trust on the inside that inspires more reliable trust on the outside.

November 21, 2022
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Ripples

Each of us is standing in our own ripples,

Not different but unique,

Finding our own way to stay steady in shared space.

In this familiar but sometime unpredictable environment,

Looking for patterns that help us feel secure,

Relying on patterns that helped us adapt,

We find ourselves courageous enough to learn new patterns that allow us to thrive even more fully

Amongst the ripples.

October 17, 2022
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Kaleidoscope of Change

What is regular? Normal? The way things are “supposed to be?”

It seems our nature is to crave stability and consistency, to look around us for the expected.

Can the expected really be a constant pattern of change, redefined based on circumstances?

In the fall every tree chooses a slightly different timing and color and pattern of change based on its relationship with the earth, the air, and its surroundings.

Even the evergreen loses some leaves, changes shape, and becomes something different year after year.

This shifting is considered beautiful, an often awe-inspiring evolution.

No tree taking the exact same steps, no one looking the same, yet all normal, regular, naturally changing.

This change allows the tree to thrive.

I must remember there is no right or wrong in change, simply an opportunity to be unafraid, vulnerable, and resilient.

Think about the possibility.

August 29, 2022
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Connection is at the core of communication. How I feel about you and what you say is directly tied to my beliefs about myself. My stories and patterns of reaction determine the fruits of our interactions. So, in order to communicate effectively, I must leave you to your own beliefs and stories and simply tune my vibration to what feels good. When I leave all that other stuff out of it, I find authentic and harmonious connection in every communication.

August 22, 2022
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The Power

Rolling in, rolling out.

The waves may be big. The waves may be small.

There may be great space between or a quickness that causes me uneasiness.

For a moment I feel unsteady, unable to trust. Is it the waves or is it me I doubt?

I soften and focus my awareness.

I find a rhythmic ebb and flow within.

Doubt disappears as my internal rhythms take over. I settle into the flow.

I create the ease that I crave. I am not the waves.

I am not the fear.

I am the power behind it all.

July 11, 2022
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Likeness to Lillies

I imagine to the universe we are much like day lilies,

endless varieties,

no two alike.

Ages in the making,

we are relatively predictable in our growing,

blooming just for an instant.

The landscape of our world is ever changed by each little bud and blossom as it pops briefly open and vanishes instantly, leaving just its memory imprinted on the wind in its unique and lasting fragrance.