calmkate

Mindfulness 

Looking for balance in your life?
Climbing out of your own strife?
Health issues cutting like a sharp knife?

I’ve studied mindfulness for years
well before it became a ‘trend’
fully integrated into life, it does indeed mend!

Useful to stay focused and transcend fears
Calmness really does descend
yet balance is needed for old habits to bend

Excellent to do a mindful practice or walk
Cut all communication – outer and inner chatter
Aware of each breathe and muscle as we turn inward

But a Mindless walk can also bring Balance
an unfocused walk where our mind meanders
enjoying the vista or smile at bird song

So many of us have family and jobs
feel shackled, reduced to sobs
like our hearts and dreams are robbed

Yet just ten to fifteen minutes twice a day
will ease the edge off our fray
give our hearts space to stay

Kindness to oneself and others is vital for our inner glow!
But Balance is essential to really learn and grow!

Mindfulness practice alone can be intense so we need to ease up, relax and combine some less mindful practice in order to bring balance and joy!

published 3.8.2018 – here is a taste as I learn more skills I hope to do a podcast about Mind Training

36 comments

  1. A great poem with an important message. You cannot be mindful without being relaxed. When I go out for a walk, I try to pay attention to details. Today I saw a large clump of dandelion. My admiration for the yellow color is justified, because in the other hemisphere it’s 3 degrees, the sky is dark blue and it’s raining all the time. Waiting for the sun to chase away the cold 🙂
    Regards

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  2. I love this! I agree that the current fad of “mindfulness” seems a quick check in and check out without the introspection you so eloquently advocate. The poetry written and the rhythm of your words in the podcast felt like balm. It is late and I was anxious but much less so now. ❤

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    • that is truly music to my ears, thanks so much Val! Hope you’ve slept well, deeply and peacefully … it happens that way when we are balanced.

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  3. Thank you for resharing this today! It is very powerful, helpful and encouraging!
    Balance and joy! Yes! Oh, my quiet time, walks, meditation, and breathing exercises are such a joy to me each day!
    (((HUGS))) ❤️ 🙂

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  6. I love the sand! Mindfulness practice has made a massive difference to my life. Even as I still spiral, doubt myself, and try to just hold on, Mindfulness practice has taught me to accept the reality of where I am, rather then fight it, to pause, to breathe, to recognise and interrupt thought spirals, to ground myself.

    Love and sparkles ♡

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    • really glad to hear that sparkles … so pleased it’s working for you! And that’s what its about dealing with the reality instead of struggling with our expectations of how things should be ..

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  8. Thank you so much dear Kate. I needed this poem on Mindfulness and the Video too. I go almost daily in the evening to this lovely garden near the sea for evening walks with my husband and two friends and it feels so refreshing and nice. A wonderful poem.

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    • I am not keen on the trendy ‘mindfulness’ that is being marketed these days. It’s about living in the moment being aware of all our senses, emotions, words and deeds … the real thing takes time to build up with lots of persistent effort but it is opposite to our more usual mindless drifting through life unaware 🙂

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  17. Beautifully written and kindly shared, Kate! Thank you for both!
    This is one I will reread.
    Often I feel like I’ve been holding my breath for a long time and then I read one of your poems and I feel like I can breath again…and then I can smile.
    (((HUGS)))

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  18. I second your opinion here Kate. taking the few minutes away from the bustle of life can open our hearts and minds to inner peace and healing. not always possible though but having that thought in our minds is a practice that helps us keep the balance. I run almost everyday, it helps with the tension and anxiety. good post!

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  19. Great poem. The Key word for me was balance. When we’re at either end of the spectrum it’s likely not a good place to be. Finding balance where we can live in the moment; experiencing all which that moment has to offer. Thanks for sharing and posting.

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  20. Nice poem. No doubt mindfulness is good but it shall be practiced with right view and wisdom. we should accept the entire worldly phenomena, including our body and mental feelings, as the way these come, without any like or dislike.

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  23. Very well said. Old habits die hard. As I am getting older, I can very well relate to your poem. With my children growing up, I am left with lesser responsibilities. I had myself become a victim of anxiety and fear. I have been practicing yoga and a little bit of meditation since many years, but to calm my nerves now I regularly meditate, and it helps.We can get inner peace of mind by meditation and breathing exercises.

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  24. Your entry on mindfulness reminds me of some special times in my life where I was able to detach from life’s complexities to experience the beauty of the moment.

    For Day 2 Commenting Bootcamp , your entry inspires a brief story
    of a Spring Break visit to the island of Cozumel.

    Class ended today as my body/mind longed for a break from the stressful action of teaching. I had flown to many destinations before but this time the feeling was different. A first glance out my window of the azure waters surrounding Cozumel had attracted my attention to seek a more intimate encounter with this place of stunning beauty. As the plane taxied to a stop. amidst the jungle beyond me , I recall thinking of myself as a true adventurer. The next morning, I opted to rent a motor scooter to dare myself to traverse this desolate island to the opposite shore. As a lonely biker then, I had memories of breathing in the pungent splendor of air in the jungle, watching waves lap fiercely along coral shores and feeling the patter of raindrops kissing my face from a passing shower. Jimmy Buffett songs had filled the air as I had neared a lonely bar at the end of the road. Here was a perfect place to relax over a cool Corona as siesta time drew near. Settling into my hammock, a large iguana appeared appeared nearby. Why did he not fear my presence ? Resting my mind to the primitive isolation of the coral shores surrounding me , I knew then that my courage to pursue an active vacation in Cozumel had brought mindfulness to my life in this exquisitely beautiful moment.

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