Skip to content

Posts tagged ‘Mindfulness’

Oct 18

Go to the Field

“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted.”― Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

“When loneliness comes stalking, go into the fields, consider
the orderliness of the world. Notice
something you have never noticed before,

like the tambourine sound of the snow-cricket
whose pale green body is no longer than your thumb.

Stare hard at the hummingbird, in the summer rain,
shaking the water-sparks from its wings.” – Mary Oliver

To noticing what’s been in the forefront all along
Pulling over often to praise and ponder
Sitting with gratitude in imperfect days

Present and eager
Grateful and gentle
Go to the fields, look, notice.

“The Road goes ever on and on
Down from the door where it began.
Now far ahead the Road has gone,
And I must follow, if I can,
Pursuing it with eager feet,
Until it joins some larger way
Where many paths and errands meet.
And whither then? I cannot say”― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Oct 15

Colander

“May the wind under your wings bear you where the sun sails and the moon walks.”― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit, or There and Back Again

“Silence and stillness are how I sift through the day’s input. The silence serves as a colander, helping me discern what I need to hold on to and allowing what I don’t need to fall gently away, making space to access courage and creativity, quieting to hear the voice of God.”― Emily P. Freeman, The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions

What to hold on to
What to let gently fall away
Daily decision, choices
Discernment, attention, focus
Or
Busy, repetition, avoidance
Reset, recenter, anchor, alignment
Colors brighter, air fresher, horizon widened
In stillness, narrowing, sifting
Holding and being held.

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

Oct 12

To Its Lair

“life is always where we are.”― Mark Nepo, The Book of Awakening

“To love. To be loved. To never forget your own insignificance. To never get used to the unspeakable violence and the vulgar disparity of life around you. To seek joy in the saddest places. To pursue beauty to its lair. To never simplify what is complicated or complicate what is simple. To respect strength, never power. Above all, to watch. To try and understand. To never look away. And never, never to forget.”― Arundhati Roy, The Cost of Living

Look again.
Linger.
Longer.
Yield.
Softly.
Gently.
With kindness.
Warm embrace.
Light spirit.
Well of hope.
Fertile soil.
Holy ground.
Life blooming, unfolding.
On this very day.

“The biggest human temptation is to settle for too little.”― Thomas Merton

Sep 30

Deep Dive, Surface Anew

“A great ship asks deep water.”― George Herbert

“By all means use sometimes to be alone.
Salute thyself: see what thy soul doth wear.
Dare to look in thy chest; for ’tis thine own:
And tumble up and down what thou find’st there.
Who cannot rest till he good fellows find,
He breaks up house, turns out of doors his mind.”
― George Herbert, The Temple: The Poetry of George Herbert

Within
Inquiry and revelation
Deep waters
Surety of tide
Rhythm and rhyme
Surface anew, bouy
In and out
Like breath
Close up and pull back
Ground to horizon
Shift in view
Give and receive
Conductor of this day
What will you compose?

“Peace, prattler.”― George Herbert

Sep 29

Thread the Needle

“A gentle heart is tied with an easy thread.”― George Herbert

“Every day is the first day we’ve ever done today, so maybe there just needs to be a little more acknowledgment of the amateur who lives and actually thrives in each of us.”― Annie F. Downs, That Sounds Fun: The Joys of Being an Amateur, the Power of Falling in Love, and Why You Need a Hobby

Auto pilot disengaged
Downshifting to slow
Thread the needle attention, focus
Single-tasking
Look up and around
Take in the view
This is the journey
Tending to this day
Looking for the lovely
Loving well

“… to pause is to win & to rest can actually be part of the victory.”― Annie F. Downs, Looking for Lovely: Collecting the Moments that Matter

Sep 28

Autumn Composition

“Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I shall smile when wreaths of snow
Blossom where the rose should grow” – Emily Bronte

Song for Autumn
by Mary Oliver

“In the deep fall
don’t you imagine the leaves think how
comfortable it will be to touch
the earth instead of the
nothingness of air and the endless
freshets of wind? And don’t you think
the trees themselves, especially those with mossy,
warm caves, begin to think
of the birds that will come – six, a dozen – to sleep
inside their bodies? And don’t you hear
the goldenrod whispering goodbye,
the everlasting being crowned with the first
tuffets of snow? The pond
vanishes, and the white field over which
the fox runs so quickly brings out
its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its
bellows. And at evening especially,
the piled firewood shifts a little,
longing to be on its way.”

What will you bring to this day, this season?
Will you slow, pause, praise?
Or pass by hurriedly in a haze?
Pull over, gaze, graze?
May presence, attention, awe be my first response.
Dancing with wonder too.

“I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time.”
Robert Browning

Sep 24

Harmony Woven in Presence

“If you live in harmony with nature you will never be poor; if you live according what others think, you will never be rich.”― Seneca, Letters from a Stoic

“True happiness is to enjoy the present, without anxious dependence upon the future, not to amuse ourselves with either hopes or fears but to rest satisfied with what we have, which is sufficient, for he that is so wants nothing. The greatest blessings of mankind are within us and within our reach. A wise man is content with his lot, whatever it may be, without wishing for what he has not.”― Seneca

This day
Overflowing with possibilities
Presence, curiosity, receptivity
A shift in view
Loosening grip
Open heart and hands
Same place, different person.

“If you really want to escape the things that harass you, what you’re needing is not to be in a different place but to be a different person.”― Lucius Annaeus Seneca, Letters from a Stoic

Sep 23

Bright Morning Invitation

“Here, root yourselves beside me.
I am the tree planted by the river,
Which will not be moved.
I, the rock, I the river, I the tree
I am yours—your passages have been paid.
Lift up your faces, you have a piercing need
For this bright morning dawning for you.
History, despite its wrenching pain,
Cannot be unlived, and if faced with courage,
Need not be lived again.
Lift up your eyes upon
The day breaking for you.
Give birth againTo the dream.” – Maya Angelou, On the Pulse of the Morning

“Come, clad in peace and I will sing the songs
The Creator gave to me when I
And the tree and stone were one.
Before cynicism was a bloody sear across your brow
And when you yet knew you still knew nothing.
The river sings and sings on.” – Maya Angelou, On the Pulse of the Morning

Pulse of a new day.
The rhythm and rhyme.
Poetry woven throughout, rising up, overflowing.
Birthing, renewing, restoring.
Flowing like a river.
Deep roots.
Rock solid.
Good morning, good day, good life.
Accept the invitation.
Grace, hope, joy.

“Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes,
Into your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.” – Maya Angelou, On the Pulse of the Morning

Sep 20

Tips and Dust

“The true harvest of my life is intangible – a little star dust caught, a portion of the rainbow I have clutched.”― Henry David Thoreau

“Direct your eye inward, and you’ll find / A thousand regions in your mind / Yet undiscovered. Travel them, and be / Expert in home-cosmography”― Henry David Thoreau

Busy, rushing, noise
Distractions, short cuts, avoidance
Clear clutter, in and out
Go off path
Make room, create margin, horizons
Pause, ask, listen
Partake and dive into wonder, awe, reverence
Hidden in moments
Harvest of life
Abundance in tips and dust.

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor.”― Henry David Thoreau

Sep 19

Moments to Seasons

“These autumn days will shorten and grow cold. The leaves will shake loose from the trees and fall. Christmas will come, then the snows of winter. You will live to enjoy the beauty of the frozen world, for you mean a great deal to Zuckerman and he will not harm you, ever. Winter will pass, the days will lengthen, the ice will melt in the pasture pond. The song sparrow will return and sing, the frogs will awake, the warm wind will blow again. All these sights and sounds and smells will be yours to enjoy, Wilbur — this lovely world, these precious days…”― E.B. White, Charlotte’s Web

“Stolen moments” create a feeling of enjoyment in our “intensive time” awareness. The glow and the intensity of those instants can guide us throughout a whole lifetime. They can expose a second or a third dimension of the daily events and shed an expounding light on all the little details we encounter.”― Erik Pevernagie

Each day, stolen moments falling into months and seasons
Abundant with gifts and offerings
Woven in ordinary and perceived sameness
Transitions, transformations if we allow
Joy, delight, beauty, shedding, growth
Attention required, open hands too
Pause, look, listen.

“The world is full of talkers, but it is rare to find anyone who listens. And I assure you that you can pick up more information when you are listening than when you are talking.”― E.B. White, The Trumpet of the Swan

« Older Entries