One day at the beach, I walked along peacefully intent on taking photographs of shells and other bits of nature that the ocean tide delivered on the sand. I sought out colorful shapes: golden yellow, pale pink, deep purple, and luminous blue. I was deep in thought, in the flow of the moment. I felt truly happy.
Category: Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction
Mindful Gardener
I’m lucky to live near many public gardens and arboretums. I cannot wait to see their spring offerings. This spring seems more precious to me, maybe it’s because of the precariousness of the world. I need a place of serenity and beauty, a place where things thrive and grow instead of being destroyed.
Nature’s Cure
When the world becomes too much, I invariably turn to nature. As I walk the trails, I am on the lookout for something to surprise me, something to capture my imagination. Nature is the best cure for writer’s block.
Power to Pause
My thoughts came in quick, short phrases. They begged to be placed into poetry. January is a perfect month for reflection; I'm able to center my thoughts when I compose poetry. Everything falls into place. I'm comforted by the rhythm of my thinking.
Fall Flow: Haiku for Autumn
This week, I entered a 4th grade classroom to see students at their desks silently moving their lips and quietly tapping their fingers. I heard a hum, “5-7-5... 5,7,5...” and then tapping, clapping, and snapping. I knew immediately what they were busy creating. They were constructing haiku. In the last two weeks, the teacher introduced … Continue reading Fall Flow: Haiku for Autumn
A Fresh Look at Lists
I reluctantly shift away from summer – the beach, the mountains, my independent reading time, the sun. And slowly I enter September already weary from thoughts of all I have to do, all I must do, all the little things that await me.
The Silver Lining
I could have focused on all the things that went wrong with this lesson, all the content I did not get to share, all the things I should have done. Instead, I reframed those thirty minutes as the room I made to show loving kindness and compassion. Something that is in increasing short supply in our world.
Transformation: The Things We Carry
What if I took my junky art drawer and treated it as a piece of art? What could I make? How could it become a pleasing aesthetic part of my art space? There was suddenly possibility instead of mess.
Mindful Mending
I have been thinking about sewing lately – mending specifically. A couple of weeks ago, I came across a book that caught my eye, Mending Life A Handbook for Repairing Clothes and Hearts by Nina and Sonya Montenegro. It’s cover is patterned and embossed. I have always been attracted to that type of patchwork – collage style. Something about the tactile diversity calls to me.
Belonging
BELONGING - Oxford defines belonging as an affinity for a place or situation. Webster says it means a possession or a close or intimate relationship. I’ve been reflecting on what it means to belong this week. I am getting older. I could and have said this at any age, but now approaching sixty-five, now it is a very true statement. I feel it, especially with the holidays upon us and my family members quarantined and scattered across the country. Actually, I have yearned to belong since I was quite young. It’s a human thing. We all need connection.
