Postcards: March 22 - 28

My kindergarten teacher sent me this postcard from Florida nearly 60 years ago.

I still remember the excitement my 5 year old self felt when my teacher sent me a postcard in the mail. Eventually I pasted it in my scrapbook of Valentine cards and photos of classmates. Who knew a simple card with a colorful birds on one side, a stamp on the other, with just enough room for a couple sentences could still communicate a message of care and connection all these decades later.

That's what these weekly reflections are, postcards from my inner world to you. Some mornings, when I sit in meditation, I visit the most wonderous places. Often I take a picture with my mind. There's no way I can express the entirety of the experience so I jot down a few lines, hoping to capture what has captured my attention that day. I already know the words fall short but I hope the act of putting them down somehow communicates a message of care and connection. So I drop them in your inbox each week, believing that an inspired spark is transmitted from me to you. XOXO

Practice

Let's do a creative loving kindness practice this week. Settle into a comfortable spot, balanced between upright and uptight. Sense gravity holding you as your feet rest on the earth. Take three intentional breaths, expanding the chest and opening the heart. Allow your head and heart to sync together with the body.

Now call to mind a loved one. I'm thinking of my sister who loves candles. In my mind, I'm sending her a postcard of a glowing flame. On the back, I've scribbled "May you be surrounded by love and light." I imagine the postcard being sent from my heart and arriving at the doorway of hers. I envision soft, golden light engulfing her. Together we linger in this moment of peace. Call to mind your loved one. Through the power of your creative imagination send them images and messages of care and connection.

Next I'm thinking of my dear friend Moises, who is going through serious medical treatment. I'm remembering the many delicious meals we've shared together. I'm taking a snapshot of dried peppers strung together and writing a prayer on the back, "May you be well." Gratitude and memory carries this postcard from my kitchen table to his. We are nourished once again. Who else needs compassion this day?

By now, you get the idea. Write as many postcards as you wish. Send them to the four corners. Deliver kindness, peace, healing, joy and love sealed with a kiss. The heart knows no bounds.

Time for one more postcard. What do you need this day? Invite in an ancestor, your higher self, a spiritual being or saint, someone who knows you well. Be quiet long enough so they can hear the unspoken words of your heart. Wait there until you receive their message of love. What picture is on the front? What words are on the back? Carry it in the scrapbook of your heart for the rest of the day.

PS Patrick and I are visiting South Africa these days. Here's a postcard from safari.