As I set up my calendar for the month, I select a quote I’ve found that speaks to me. I write it in my planner and leave space below it to capture phrases I hear or read that speak to me and relate to the quote. I found this practice centers me throughout the month, and helps me be more present in my conversations, meetings, and readings. For July 2024, the quote that centered me was: Be grateful for whoever comes because each has been sent as a guide from beyond.
Near the end of COVID, I became a certified mindfulness facilitator. While I sought this certification to support my facilitation work, I discovered I actually needed it for myself. There are many ways you can practice mindfulness… breathing, walking, listening, and recently as part of the Radiant Leader community I practiced with writing. The weekly host read “The Guest House” – a poem by Jalaluddin Rumi. Our practice was to listen to the poem, read the poem to ourselves out loud, and then read it to ourselves silently. After reading it, we were to select a word or phrase that caught our attention and write about it for eight minutes. This mindful practice in June led me to July’s quote.
Here are quotes, lyrics, and phrases that that caught my attention during the month:
- An umbrella of peace opens around me in difficult times
- I am because we are
- Live fully in my God-created body
- And you can still find peace and grow in the wild of changing times
- We find only the world we look for
- Justice is what love looks like in public
- The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper
- A God moment
- This is my story, this is my song
- Follow the energy
- When the world goes mad, become wildly kind to everyone, everyone
- There are some people who have sun inside them; They have an eternal being that sheds light and feels the sun
- Peace is the most disturbing force in the universe
- Gratitude is the gateway to grace
- The adventure we were supposed to have
- When I let my heart constantly stir like a cotton candy machine, the lighter and sweeter it becomes
- Normal, natural, not a problem
This poem stirred me. And like many mindful practices, uncomfort showed up first—the squirm. Then I resettled, re-read, and practiced again.
I thought about who was not there and my heart ached. Then I resettled, re-read, and practiced again.
As I sat with the poem, I realized that my difficult “visitors” in life were not alone. Each complex, unwanted thing came with several more that were supportive, delightful, compassionate, and silly. This mindful moment enabled me to review my last six months and see all the bright lights around me.
Unexpected conversations. Steady friends. Surprise adventures. New connections. Moments of peace. Each visitor a nightlight, a warm glow, or a bright beacon—blessings that lit my path forward.
My mind full, I realized loss and love coexist – and it’s not just good, it’s welcome.
“… The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in.”
