With Eyes Closed: October 5 - 11

Last week I shared a photo of a mountain landscape from the Olympic Peninsula. This week's photo highlights a magnificent plant from Butchart Gardens in Victoria. Mindfulness is like that. It can be spacious and expansive as well as concentrated and focused.

Last week I encouraged you to open your eyes, especially in difficult times, because you might just discover the love, beauty and peace you are seeking, already in front of you. I still believe that but right now I'm closing my eyes. With the government shutdown, my job security is uncertain. But I'm not closing my eyes out of fear. I'm not closing my eyes to escape from uncertainty. It is a little like breathing. I receive with the in breath and release with the out breath. It is a little like the ebb and flow of my heart. Life is a dance between paying attention to the world outside ourselves and to the world inside ourselves. If last week I felt the invitation to be expansive and to open, this week I feel the need to draw inward and take care of my bruised heart. I'm closing my eyes to become grounded and centered. I'm closing my eyes to see the light within. Life is never just one thing. I am never just one thing. Joy and sorrow. Mountains and valleys. Clarity and confusion. Mindfulness reminds me to breathe and to make room for all of it. Sometimes I open my eyes in awe and sometimes I close my eyes in quiet prayer.

Practice

Find a safe place to pause for a few minutes. Pretend like you're knocking on the door of a friend's home. Get ready to spend time in your own company.

Maybe take a moment to notice your thoughts. Are they loud or soft? Obsessive or relaxed? Chaotic or clear? No need to push them away or get stuck in them. Let them come and go like clouds in the sky.

Check in with your body. Feel free to open or close the eyes. Give extra love to any place hurting or tired inside. Pay attention to the in breath and the out breath. Sense the steady beating of the heart. The body knows what it needs. Stop and listen to whatever it is telling you.

Place your hand on your heart. Tap into the tender places within. Spend a little time in silence. The quieter you get, the more you can hear. Breathe in love and light. Breathe out fear and anxiety. Abide in the heart. Welcome whatever is present.

Take a couple more moments to do nothing. No need to fix anything. No need to change anything. Simply be in the presence of your own being. This moment is more than enough. Remain as long as you wish. Befriend yourself.

Open your eyes when you are ready. Step once again into the flow of life.