Morning Mindfulness

A few days ago a friend asked me how I “fight for my personal freedom everyday”. It was a question that I understood and one that I take very seriously. As I helped wrap up a Soltura workshop a few days ago, I shared that if you think you can have an amazing “experience” and then the experience will carry you through without working at it, you are sorely mistaken. So, how do we hold onto those amazing experiences when they enter our lives? How do we stay connected with God or Spirit or Universe or Ourselves?

Well…I have a variety of ways that I try to do this. Morning pages and journaling. Centering Prayer. Lectio Divina. Sharing story with others. Giving without thought of receiving. The list could go on and on, but one that resonates with me and that we can do anytime and anywhere (without having to set aside “special” time for it) is being mindful of the present moment. Right now is all we have. What does it look like to embrace the potentially mundane of the day? (And I say “potentially”, because once you become mindful and connected, nothing really seems mundane anymore.)

This same day that I conversed with my friend, Lisa, I had earlier walked to my chiropractor’s appointment which is about 1 ½ miles away. I was so stunned by the beauty of the moment that I was prompted to use my little phone recorder to capture the morning’s essence.

The sky is alive this morning. God everywhere. The touch of the hydrangeas. The smell of the rosemary. The squirrel darting out to meet me on the sidewalk. The mom with her big old dog. Her baby swaddled in the stroller. The dog pulling her around the stop sign. Smiling, it takes me back to those times with Jane when she was a babe. Now it is she that pulls me not the dog anymore for he is gone. The sky. The birds. Christine taking flight. Fire and flight. Powerful combination. I see the birds lined up on the telephone wire. I see the fingers of God. The rays of the sun coming through the clouds. It is a gift. I am overcome. I am one. The world has disappeared. I am sky. I am clouds. I am flight. I am the telephone wires. I am the dog wrapping myself around the stop sign. I am the baby bundled in the stroller. I am the little girl standing on the porch saying good morning. She is brave and bold as she tells her old dog not to bark at me. I am enlightened. I am alive.

(a recommended pause and breathe here ☺)

So, what brings you alive? How do you stay connected to your true essence – your personal freedom? What gives you flight or starts your blaze? If you can’t answer any of those questions…what are you waiting for? Come join me in this flame of New Year!

photos from my neighborhood

Comments

[SUNRISE SISTER]

Dear "Dame" or should that be "Flame Lucy" -- This is a beautiful post and a reminder of the beauty all around us every single moment. My prayertime this a.m. was touched with the sound of the neighborhood falcon screeing in the sky - I thought she was up early - my doggies next to me - the silence of the house, the dark dark blue of the day that will probably be greyer rather than bluer - lots of beauty and blessings. Anticipation of a day filled with fun/laughter/friends/art - a day of community work on Monday/MLK Day....oh, yes, I too love this life and the beauty of being and that of the present moment. Thank you for sharing the post (and the photo:)
xoxo

[Anonymous]

Are you related to the (in my opinion, GREAT) Wesleyan/holiness theologian, Mildred Bangs Wynkoop, who wrote Foundations of Wesleyan-Arminian Theology? I'm a former Nazarene associate pastor now living and teaching ESL in the heart of China. . .and you have touched my heart! Thank you!! :D

[Tess]

That present tense encompasses everything, doesn't it? Past, present, future.
The past because of everything that has contributed to where we are now, the future because we create it with every second, the present because it holds the two together in perfect tension.

[RipGurl]

This summer I read a book: The Call by Oriah Mountain Dreamer. Here is an excerpt:

I have heard it all my life

A voice calling a name I recognized as my own.

Sometimes it comes as a soft–bellied whisper.

Sometimes it holds an edge of urgency.

But always it says: Wake up my love. You are walking asleep.

There's no safety in that!



Thank you for bringing the sense of urgency back to me to live in the moment. You could easily write a book that would touch hearts. Thanks for touching my heart.

[lucy]

SS--i loved reading your morning reflections...beauty is all around!!

Anonymous--no, i am no relation to the wynkoop you name or as far as i know ANY wynkoop. "lucy" is actually my pen name and i am not to be confused with the wonderful author Sister Lucy Wynkoop.

thank you, however, for your lovely comments and i am so glad you stopped by to visit and that your heart was touched. in return, you have deeply touched mine with your words and presence. i hope you will come by again soon!

[lucy]

lovely words, dear tess. yep, that present really is a gift :-)

rip gurl - i love oriah mountain dreamer's books. i hope you have read "the invitation" also. your words, in turn, touched my heart and i wonder if you are familiar with my recent little zine called "grace unbound"? you can check it out in the sidebar; and let me know if you would like to order one from me. i think you might enjoy it.

please do stop by again soon!