Ride it out

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We live in time when things can change fast. Everything moves fast, from transportation to communication, and as a result, so do we. Our bodies move around from one place to the next, fulfilling jam-packed agendas, “multi-tasking” along the way. (You know I put that quotes because there’s really no such thing…see bullet #3.) Our thoughts race incessantly from one topic to the next, often trailing off in incomplete sentences and waves of distraction. We’re all about change, chasing the newest of everything, from material things to information. We can’t go a minute without looking at our phones because who knows what we might have missed in those precious 60 seconds of flux?

We know nothing stays the same, and we love it. Except for all those times when we don’t.  Read More

Monday Moment: Onward

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If you’re like me and live in a place where the clocks “sprang forward” this past weekend and you lost an hour, this morning requires a little extra motivation. There’s less light outside (although there will be more this evening!), and whatever time your alarm goes off feels like an hour earlier than it (now) is. In general, ouch.

Not only does this wisdom from Virginia Woolf help us with that struggle, but it also lines up nicely with one of the main messages of mindfulness. Avoiding challenges doesn’t make them disappear, unfortunately. The upside is that often, things look worse from the outside than they actually are once you get into them. If you take one step at a time, and a few deep, present breaths along the way, you may find you’re on the other side of “ouch” before you know it.

“A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.” — Lao Tzu

Photo credit: Lesly B. Juarez

Heart’s desires

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There is nothing quite like the magic of a dream come true. Once we discover that there is something meaningful we want – something we aspire to having, achieving, or doing –  and we set out in the pursuit of making it happen, it can be hard to imagine ourselves without it. We ignore (for once!) the internal voice that warns that we may be getting ahead of ourselves, and we begin to envision a future that looks exactly like our dream come true. It’s a beautiful thing, to not only be able to visualize that outcome, but to experience the optimism that accompanies it. It’s almost as real as the actual thing – in fact, according to your brain, it’s basically the same.  Read More