Mindfulness Poem by Joh Kabat Zinn

I wanted to share this poem that I heard today. I actually got chills when they read it. Love that!


Have you ever had the experience of stopping so completely,
of being in your body so completely,
of being in your life so completely,
that what you knew and what you didn't know,
that what had been and what was yet to come,
and the way things are right now,
no longer held even the slightest hint of anxiety or discord,
a moment of complete presence beyond striving,
beyond mere acceptance,
beyond the desire to escape or fix anything or plunge ahead,
a moment of pure being,
no longer in time,
a moment of pure seeing, pure feeling,
a moment in which life simply is,
and that is-ness grabs you by all your senses, all your memories, by your very genes, by your loves, and welcomes you home,
that is a taste of mindfulness.

Mindfulness sounds so simple so why is it so rare? For me I think it is because I let myself get too caught up in everyday issues – kids fighting, issues with the hubby, stress at work, etc.

Genuine happiness should not be dependent on how my day is going.

Everyday stresses can send me in a tailspin quicker than I like to admit. I need to become more aware that I am losing grasp of what is really important. That is going to take some work : )

Forgiveness

I took a little hiatus from blog land but I heard a quote today that touched me and I wanted to write about it here so I would always know where to find it.

Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it. - Mark Twain

I think that is so beautiful. I am listening to Dr. Wayne Dyer on my ipod and he talks about how the most important thing in the universe is forgiveness. We need forgiveness in order to get past bitterness, anger, tension, fear, hatred, hostility, rage - all of those feelings that come from how others treat us. He goes on to say that life if perfect because everything you have experienced so far has brought you to this perfect moment. Pretty cool stuff.