Thankful Thursdays {09.14.2017}
This has felt like the longest week. Not for any awful reason; I suppose just the nature of getting used to new rhythms & routines. My meditation time is caught in the cross hairs, as my mornings are now about being out the door by 7:15am to catch the school bus 5 miles away.
The last few days I’ve stopped by the reservoir on my way back home to feel the sunshine on my face, warming my soul. I was reminded of the book tucked into the basket beside my bed—Wherever You Go, There You Are by Jon Kabat-Zinn. He explores the different ways in which we can achieve a state of mindfulness—I know, two words that are so loaded, and perhaps some might even say overused: achievement & mindfulness.
And yet, there I was in the briefest of moments, in the glow of a freshly risen sun, listening to the crackling hum of the cicadas, soft whistle of the birds, staring across a field of grass flecked with dew, mindful only of the moment I was in, having shed the cares of everything else.
That’s my takeaway relating to mindfulness. Companies sell it as a commodity to be bought. It irritates me that not even this one area of our lives is off limits to marketing departments. Yes, we can buy things that seem to make our life more peaceful, but in the end that is just consuming things, not experiences. Ultimately, finding inner peace is something that can only be achieved through practice and patience. It is a gift we give ourselves.
I’ve a far way to go, and I know down deep the journey never ends. Life unfolds in ways for which we often haven’t planned. There are twists and turns. I bounce between moments of being fully aware, and completely distressed, always hoping that I can find a rhythm somewhere in the middle.