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Posts from the ‘Mindfulness’ Category

Jan 20

Whisper of Presence

“With mindfulness, you can establish yourself in the present in order to touch the wonders of life that are available in that moment.” – Thich Nhat Hanh

“Not reaching back for what was lost in my yesterdays. And not reaching for what I hope will be in my tomorrow. But living fully with what is right in front of me. And truly seeing the gift of this moment.”― Lysa TerKeurst

Walk into this new week slowly.
Choose with intention.
Pause in reflection.
Then move with discernment.
Decide with clarity.
Focus effort, energy, enthusiasm with razor sharp precision.
Beauty, wonder, soft whispers to guide and direct.
The gift of this moment.
The possibilities borne of awareness, attention, direction.

“I must exchange whispers with God before shouts with the world.”― Lysa TerKeurst

Dec 8

Wrists of Idleness

“So very many silences, and kinds of silence: chapels and churches and confessionals, glades and gorges, pregnant pauses and searing lovemaking; the stifling stifled brooding silence just before a thunderstorm unleashes itself wild on the world; the silence of space, the vast of vista; the crucial silences between notes, without which there could be no music;”― Brian Doyle, The Plover

“Today is a day like any other: twenty-four hours, a little sunshine, a little rain. Listen, says ambition, nervously shifting her weight from one boot to another—why don’t you get going? For there I am, in the mossy shadows, under the trees. And to tell the truth I don’t want to let go of the wrists of idleness, I don’t want to sell my life for money, I don’t even want to come in out of the rain.”― Mary Oliver, Devotions: A Read with Jenna Pick: The Selected Poems of Mary Oliver

Slow to pause.
Hard stops woven throughout.
To put it all down for a spell.
To not do, multitask, grind.
Space to reflect.
Whitespace to create.
Recalibrate, reconsider, refresh.
Crucial silences to compose.
To be made new.

“As long as you live, you will be subject to change, whether you will it or not – now glad, now sorrowful; now pleased, now displeased; now devout, now undevout; now vigorous, now slothful; now gloomy, now merry. But a wise man who is well taught in spiritual labor stands unshaken in all such things, and heeds little what he feels, or from what side the wind of instability blows.”― Thomas à Kempis

Nov 19

The Work of Blooming

“Flowers don’t open and close according to who is walking by. They open and show their beauty regardless.”― Rebecca Campbell, Light is the New Black

“Balance is not a passive resting place—it takes work, balancing the giving and the taking, the raking out and the putting in.”― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

Our yes or no.
Action or inaction.
Response or reaction.
Daily choosing.
To listen.
To ask questions.
To go deeper.
Than assumptions, judgments, easy answers.
At ease in the knowing and unknowing.
Trusting time and timing.
Slowing and savoring.
Paying attention.
Giving and receiving.
Opening and softening.
The work of becoming, of blooming.

“Paying attention is a form of reciprocity with the living world, receiving the gifts with open eyes and open heart.”― Robin Wall Kimmerer, Braiding Sweetgrass

Sep 23

1 Comment

Every, Every Minute

“Light isn’t always buoyant and shadows aren’t always despair; yet both, I believe, are limitless in lessons that they share.”― Carolyn Riker, Blue Clouds: A Collection of Soul’s Creative Intelligence

“We have such a long way to go,” sighed the boy
“Yes, but look how far we’ve come,” said the horse”
― Charlie Mackesy, The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse

Slow to see your life in real time
Not merely in memory, anticipation, regret, fear
We put lipstick on the past
Or are bound by it
The good ol’ days
The same ones we missed when we were in them
Life is unfolding in the ordinary, at our feet, in this day
Amidst sun and clouds
Flowers and weeds
Seen and unseen
Knowing and unknowing
Seeking and finding
In Our Town by Thornton Wilder, Emily asks, “Does anyone ever realize life while they live it… every, every minute?” and the Stage Manager replies, “No. Saints and poets maybe…they do some”
No place to be but here
May you find joy, peace, delight, wonder today and let it find you too.

“Human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives.”― William James

Aug 25

2 Comments

Of Ordinary Beautiful Things

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.” – Lao Tzu

The Patience of Ordinary Things by Pat Schneider

“It is a kind of love, is it not?
How the cup holds the tea,
How the chair stands sturdy and foursquare,
How the floor receives the bottoms of shoes
Or toes. How soles of feet know
Where they’re supposed to be.
I’ve been thinking about the patience
Of ordinary things, how clothes
Wait respectfully in closets
And soap dries quietly in the dish,
And towels drink the wet
From the skin of the back.
And the lovely repetition of stairs.
And what is more generous than a window?”

May I always welcome different perspectives.
To broaden, deepen, expand.
To see the commonalities of humanity.
Belonging, acceptance, connection.
To invite intellectual humility to keep learning, understanding and growing.
To be kind, generous, considerate, assume the best.
Patient, allowing, inviting.
Opening windows and doors to let fresh air in.
To slow down, pause and savor.
To weave gratitude, wonder and awe into each ordinary day.
Transforming the journey into one of love.

Aug 18

1 Comment

Deep Roots

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.” – J. R. R. Tolkien

“Water your roots so your soul can blossom” – Unknown

To what are you rooted?
Timeless.
True.
Deep within.
Release the rest to grow.
Keep planting.
Watering.
Blossoming.

“The roots of all goodness lie in the soil of appreciation for goodness.” – Dalai Lama

Aug 12

To Go Easy

“You can become blind by seeing each day as a similar one. Each day is a different one, each day brings a miracle of its own. It’s just a matter of paying attention to this miracle.” – Paulo Coelho

When I am Among the Trees
by Mary Oliver

“When I am among the trees,
especially the willows and the honey locust,
equally the beech, the oaks and the pines,
they give off such hints of gladness.

I would almost say that they save me, and daily.

I am so distant from the hope of myself,
in which I have goodness, and discernment,
and never hurry through the world
but walk slowly, and bow often.

Around me the trees stir in their leaves
and call out, “Stay awhile.”

The light flows from their branches.

And they call again, “It’s simple,” they say,
“and you too have come
into the world to do this, to go easy, to be filled
with light, and to shine.”

Get outside.
Get outside yourself.
Then re-enter.
Refreshed.
Filled.
Renewed perspective.
Open heart and mind.
Light spirit.
Be good to yourself, to others.
Go easy, find ease.
Bow often.

“The body benefits from movement, and the mind benefits from stillness.” – Sakyong Mipham

Aug 2

1 Comment

Mindful, Life Full

“These mountains that you are carrying, you were only supposed to climb.” – Najwa Zebian

“You may be surprised to know that all of this ultimately comes down to one thing: your attention. If you’re feeling that you’re in a cognitive fog: depleted attention. If you’re feeling anxious, worried, or overwhelmed by your emotions: hijacked attention. If you can’t seem to focus so you can take action or dive into urgent work: fragmented attention. If you feel out of step and detached from others: disconnected attention.”― Amishi P. Jha, Peak Mind: Find Your Focus, Own Your Attention in Just 12 Minutes a Day

May you know the power you possess.
To redirect, to change, to transform.
Rooted in your mind, your thoughts spilling into your actions and inactions.
Pay attention to what you are paying attention to.
In stillness, clarity.
In pause, renewal.
In rest, cup refilled.
Mindful rather than mind full.
Daily practice.
Full presence, grateful heart.

“Within you, there is a stillness and a sanctuary to which you can retreat at any time and be yourself.” – Hermann Hesse

Jul 30

2 Comments

To Kneel in the Present

“Attention is the beginning of devotion.”― John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

“Because what you give your attention to is the person you become. Put another way: the mind is the portal to the soul, and what you fill your mind with will shape the trajectory of your character. In the end, your life is no more than the sum of what you gave your attention to.” ― John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Daily.
Depth.
Discipline.
Deliberate.
Practice.
Intention.
Focus.
Devotion.
To single-task.
To pause and look, longer.
To stay and stick.
To linger.
To be ever present.
Awake.
Aware.
Threshold to devotion.
Unforced rhythms of grace.
Portal to soul.
Be relentless, ruthless, radical to create space for being.
Gratitude, awe and wonder lives here.

“Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.”― John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry

Jul 10

Roots and Sky

“Maybe it’s impossible
for poets to hide
the abundance of moons inside
when their heart is carved
from the clouds of a sunrise.”― Carolyn Riker, My Dear, Love Hasn’t Forgotten You

“As humans, we roam the entire world. We even venture beyond it not space. The whole planet is ours, but the whole planet is not our home. Instead, home is the ground we measure with our own two feet. And home is the place that measures us. Home is the place that names us and the place we, in turn, name. It feeds us, body and soul, and if we are living well, we feed it too. Home is the place we cultivate with our love.”― Christie Purifoy, Roots and Sky: A Journey Home in Four Seasons

Beneath your feet.
Where you stand now.
In this very moment.
Life resides.
Awaiting your full participation and rapt attention.
Not in some far off land.
Not yesterday or tomorrow.
Today in this present moment.
If we can’t recognize it here, we certainly won’t recognize it in the fictional land of “someday when.”
You are home.
Let yourself in.
May you cultivate love, joy, delight this day.
Roots and sky.
Welcome home.

“To be loved and to love, takes courage. To be fully seen is incredibly rare and breathtaking. We lower our masks and see a celestial inner being. It is our full self — the supernova as well as the black holes. Our fears and doubts. Our anger and joy…This is love.”― Carolyn Riker, Blue Clouds: A Collection of Soul’s Creative Intelligence

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