Archives for category: Mindfulness
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Simple Enough

April 26, 2015 //
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I find it interesting to notice how much longer a weekend feels when I really take the time to invest in exceptional self-care, and really make a point of relaxing, and savoring the simple sweet moments that are often so common – and so easily overlooked. Is life ‘perfect’…well…no – and yes, mostly, sort of… It’s a matter of perspective and sufficiency, and making a point of treating me well, myself.

Enough.

Enough.

It’s been a lovely weekend. Simple enough, and I am content with it. Perhaps it’s simply that I slept well and deeply, two nights in a row, or maybe it is that I feel comfortable and certain of my current trajectory in life, at least for the moment, and enjoy the feeling without complications because it is truly my own? Does it matter why contentment is, when it is? Is it enough to enjoy the moment, to be, in fact, content? At least for now, it seems that it is.

I have been attentive to my self-care. I have been attentive to myself. I have been awake, aware, and able to observe the world, and my own interactions from a place of compassionate non-judgment most of the weekend. Most of my choices have been sound. Most of my interactions with others have been harmonious, and enjoyable – pleasant, moment to moment, most of the time. The handful of challenging moments didn’t seem particularly noteworthy, or confrontational, and generally they were not at all about me – and that was something I understood at the time. As I said, it’s been quite a lovely weekend. Even my pain didn’t seem worth slowing down for; it was merely a nuisance.

Incremental change over time? Well, perhaps – or maybe just a good weekend. Is sorting out that distinction worth taking the time away from savoring what a lovely weekend it has been? I think not; this is a moment for being. For loving. For lingering in this joyful contented place… That’s enough.

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Categories Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Love, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Relationships, Spring, The Art of Being

The Meme is not the Experience

April 25, 2015 //
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Life in the Information Age is pretty amazing. There are so many sources of information, so many formats, so may ways to share, to process, to filter, to understand…and so much to know. Realistically, ‘being a student of life’ is a journey that concludes only at the point at which life itself ends. There is so much knowledge available that repetition isn’t really necessary, and following hyperlinks wherever they may lead is the drug of choice for many an intellectual dilettante. The wellspring of knowledge never seems to run dry.  There are still choices to be made, verbs to apply…your results, and mine, may vary. Keeping up with it all is pretty challenging…We’re not only drowning in information, and in facts, we are provided misinformation, lies, and advertising slogans in similar quantity, forcing us to sort out bullshit from information pretty much continuously if we expect to hold on to some understanding of the world that is at least somewhat consistent with reality as a shared experience… But… We’re each having our own experience. Hell, even ‘placebo effect’ is a real thing that has real effects on actual people, in spite of ‘it doesn’t work that way’.

So…yeah… ‘reality’ and ‘truth’ and ‘facts’… how’s that working out for you?

Some of the rules are outside our power to change them.

Some of the rules are outside our power to change them.

 

What about when someone disagrees with your position, your emotions, or your experience? What then? Is ‘being right’ more important than being content? Is ‘winning’ more valuable than enjoying your experience?

What matters most?

What matters most?

What about when your experience of events, and your sense of self, find you feeling invisible, misunderstood, or a stranger to your loved ones, because you are not recognized as the being you experience yourself to be? Is correcting the erroneous assumptions and misunderstandings worthwhile in the moment? We are each having our own experience – which means that even our assumptions, expectations, and understanding of others, in the moment, is also truly our own; like so many things, our understanding of others is mostly made up, and not based entirely on our direct experience. Is contentment found in a quiet smile, and self-acceptance – or in ‘righting the wrong’?

Just be.

Just be.

 

Is it enough to be, and to understand being, from the vantage point of this self, that I am – or is there some need to assert some moment of self more explicitly to feel the powerful connection that comes with recognition, acceptance, and understanding by others? Is the connection worth enough to compromise authenticity – knowing that such a choice results in a poor quality connection, indeed?

Self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-compassion... there is value in knowing who I am.

Self-acceptance, self-esteem, self-compassion… there is value in knowing who I am.

Are there ‘right answers’…or simply my answers, or your answers?  These are only questions; I have no answers for you, only answers for me. I do think the questions have value… I keep considering them.

What else matters this much?

What else matters this much?

One last question… It’s a tough one, but the test is an open book sort; the world-wide web is vast, I’m sure you can Google it. What do you actually know about people who are most dear to you…and how much are you simply assuming?

Change is. Choose wisely.

Change is. Choose wisely.

Today is a good day to test assumptions, to ask clarifying questions, and to recognize one another in the moment. Today is a good day to embrace love, because it has more value than ‘being right’. Today is a good day to check facts, cite sources, and know myself. Today is a good day to trust that no one else knows me like I do. 🙂

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Categories Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Logic & Reason, Love, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Relationships, The Art of Being

Options, Features, Upgrades

April 24, 2015 //
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When I shop for a car, I consider the features that interest me most, and offer me the greatest value. When I shop for kitchen appliances, I check product reviews and closely examine how well the product has performed for other consumers, and consider available options that make one a greater value over another. When I shop for just about anything, actually, I put thought into which specific product, by which manufacturer, with which features, options, or possible later upgrades may be available. I find it remarkable that over a lifetime I have put so much less regard or consideration into how I treat myself, and what my thinking and actions bring to the world…honestly, my value to myself, and to my culture and my planet, has to be vastly more worthy of consideration and great care than a toaster, a home, or a car. Just saying.

It's a big world.

It’s a big world.

Today, in the same small bit of my day that I hold dear, and keep well-tended as ‘me time’, I am considering what I do each day to treat the world well. My thinking isn’t limited to the people, but also to this big ball of metallic rock hurtling through space to which we all cling; what simple things can I do in ways that treat my world just a little more gently, with a bit more awareness for the limited resources we all share, and with an eye on living more sustainably? I am taking time to take a step back from the mirror, to look out the windows of my soul to the horizon of infinite possibilities… Can I do more, better, in my existing experience? Is that also part of taking care of me? I am thinking about something grander in scale than recycling product waste, or composting, or using environmentally safe cleaning products, or purchasing goods with environmentally safe packaging. I am thinking beyond electric cars and solar homes. I am thinking beyond going paperless. I am considering the wellspring of those ideas, the source of the shift in consumer focus that put those things in the marketplace; I am considering my heart, my will, and my commitment. I am considering the content of my thinking, and how to make my intention more real, more clearly manifested in my experience by way of my choices – and my awareness.

It is difficult to experience what is outside my awareness.

It is difficult to experience what is outside my awareness.

This morning, I consider what it takes to hold something in my awareness, mindfully, and to use that awareness to reinforce good choices; ideally, my thinking is that being more aware may result in good decision-making as a consumer, decision-making less driven by advertising, and more chosen by experience, careful evaluation, and well-chosen values. Yes, I think even being a consumer in the world marketplace can potentially benefit greatly from being more mindful. That’s probably more obvious than it felt to me when I first began to consider it this morning. 🙂

Reflecting on life, and the world; what is 'enough'?

Reflecting on life, and the world; what is ‘enough’?

I am looking ahead to living in my studio, and considering what I really need to feel content, satisfied, comfortable and safe? What is ‘enough’? Do I need a 10 ft solid mahogany Queen Anne dining table with a lovely glossy finish, and 8 well-crafted matching chairs? That seems more than a little excessive for a woman who doesn’t prefer big dinner parties, or crowds…but it was something I yearned for when I was younger, and I considered it pinnacle of dining style, myself. That isn’t where I am in life, now. Feeling the distance between self-then and self-now so clearly is sometimes a little strange, but it can be measured in goods, and changes in aesthetic. I recently saw a dining table I found myself liking very much, that suits me now: small, a merry honest birch and a natural finish, ample for two, adequate for four, and…simply enough.  I found it a healthy reminder to maintain a beginner’s mind, even about who I am and what I enjoy; I am not the woman I was 30 years ago. Hell, I’m not the woman I was last year…or yesterday. 🙂

Today is a good day to consider who I am, and how my journey may have changed me. Today is a good day to consider my impact on the world, and how my choices can be of greater value. Today is a good day to deliver on my promises to myself, and to take my future in hand, and craft it more carefully with my will. Today is a good day to participate fully in my experience, and to enjoy the place I choose to hold in the world.

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Categories art and the artist, Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Love, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Spring, The Art of Being, women

Small Things, New Practices

April 23, 2015 //
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I took yesterday and stepped away from the daily routine and invested some of my precious time in me. I spent the day downtown, window-shopping, walking unfamiliar streets as often as I walked more familiar ones, getting my hair cut, and visiting the Chinese Garden. I must have needed this wee break from the ordinary; by day’s end I felt as though I’d enjoyed a long weekend. Choices and verbs – they’re not always a mandate, an obligation, or a necessity, and I can use them to my obvious advantage, and quite likely would benefit from doing so more often. 🙂

Sometimes a lovely day is simply a lovely day.

Sometimes a lovely day is simply a lovely day.

The day was a delight, and finished well, too. This morning, the feeling of contentment lingers. It’s quite a lovely feeling, and definitely worth the investment of time, will, and choice.

I am in a substantial amount of pain today, but for the moment it seems pretty inconsequential. I am reminded what a powerful mind-body connection pain has in my experience when I observe ‘how good I feel’ while also observing how much  pain I am in; the investment in treating myself well, and building my emotional resilience, provides some protection from being overwhelmed by the pain, and more easily able to observe and manage it, without being swallowed whole by a more negative experience. Oh, sure, I still have some practices and verbs that must be attended to, if I want to maintain this positive outcome (the yoga that improves my mobility, the good nutrition and exercise that maintain bone strength, the meditation that builds emotional balance, and mindfulness practices that ensure I am aware of what I need for good self-care, all matter). Good self-care is not a quick trip to a convenience store, as journey’s go, it’s more like a very long through-hike on a well-marked, memorized route that suffers from scenery so varied that it is quite easy to be distracted to the point of standing still. In almost every moment, I find something I could handle a little better, to my great benefit; there is always more to practice.

Enjoying a moment mindfully is a moment well spent.

Enjoying a moment mindfully is a moment well spent.

Good practices – and the tools that build them – come from a lot of sources, for me. Yesterday I found a new one hidden in a frustrating moment – a bit like finding a plastic Easter egg, opening it up, and discovering a gold coin of great value within. An application I use on my phone updated, and the update has stopped my password from saving; I have to log in each and every time I open the app – or change from one activity within it to another. I’m ‘not wired for frustration’ – it’s one of my biggest challenges, emotionally. Frustration is my nemesis, my kryptonite, my icy highway – when I experience frustration it undercuts my emotional resilience almost instantly, and all to often some horrible tantrum ensues. It’s ugly. It occurred to me at this unlikely moment, struggling with unwanted tears, and trembling hands, that as hard as the frustration itself is, I could use this particular challenge as a ‘safe’ opportunity to really practice handling frustration, due to its predictability, and lack of direct connection to the experience of any loved one! Nice. I spent the remainder of that train ride going to that app, and breathing through the frustration, and practicing dialing it down with will and mindful attention to it. It ended up being both worthwhile and entertaining (although not quite ‘fun’). 🙂

Choices and perspective have a relationship to each other; we choose much of what we see, we limit what we are aware of.

Choices and perspective have a relationship to each other; we choose much of what we see, we limit what we are aware of.

Today is another day, another opportunity to practice the very best practices. Today is another day to smile, and to choose my actions and my words with great care, so as not to weaponize them. Today is another day to put myself at the top of my agenda. Today is another day to listen with my whole attention, and consider each interaction as an opportunity for growth and connection. Today is a good day to cherish the world, and savor my experience.

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Categories Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Love, Metaphors, Mindfulness, pain, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, Relationships, Spring, The Art of Being, The Big 5

One for Me

April 22, 2015 //
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I took today off in the middle of the week. This one is for me. It’s a lovely spring day, and aside from getting my hair cut later this afternoon, I have no specific agenda besides walking in the sunshine, with my camera, and simply being.  I hope to stroll unexplored streets of a city I love, and I hope to visit some of the many lovely parks I have not yet seen. Perhaps I will have my lunch in one such park or another, enjoying the collage of passing strangers, birdsong, and flowers? It’s an ideal day for it.

Every day holds vast potential, unexplored wonders, new opportunities; I need only be awake, aware, and willing to be engaged in the moment.

Every day holds vast potential, unexplored wonders, new opportunities; I need only be awake, aware, and willing to be engaged in the moment.

Today I take time to treat myself truly well, as a choice, with will and intention, open wonder and possibilities previously unconsidered. Today, I enjoy the world.

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Categories art and the artist, Brain Injury, Free Will, Healthy Living, Love, Metaphors, Mindfulness, Perspective, Post Traumatic Stress, solo hiking, The Art of Being
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