I am tired. Like, dragging myself around tired. A deep tired, down to my bones tired. Muscle ache tired. Wearing weights chained to my ankles and wrists tired. And then I remember…this is the week. It’s been ten years and my body still knows before I do. It still takes my brain a few daysContinueContinue reading “Year 10: Something Like Peace…”
Category Archives: Meditations
Monday Meditation: Within the Grief Winter, There Lives a Summer
In the midst of winter’s grief, there are signs of spring. Though it’s a struggle, we’re reminded of the “invincible summer” within us. Winter prepares us for the bold and beautiful summers ahead. As the season wanes, it’s time to contemplate and nurture the seeds of invincibility within ourselves for the coming summer.
Monday Meditation: Sunny Love
“To love and be loved is to feel the sun from both sides.” -David Viscott My child loves to watch Bluey, a for-all-ages cartoon from Australia about a heeler dog named Bluey and her family (mum, dad, and younger sister, Bingo). One episode, “Sleepytime,” deals with the inevitable challenges of sleeping through the night. AtContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Sunny Love”
Monday Meditation: DO NO HARM
“If you can, help others; if you cannot do that, at least do not harm them.” -The Dalai Lama I can’t suggest a meditation more apt than this right now, given the events in the United States over the past week. How can you help people? Can you donate to organizations once, a few times,ContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: DO NO HARM”
Monday Meditation: Persevering
“Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after the other.” -Walter Elliot Grief isn’t just one experience that hangs out for a bit and then disappears. Grief is a very long road broken up into shorter segments that piggyback onto one another for the remainder of a griever’s life. OutsidersContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Persevering”
Monday Meditation: Step On In
“You can’t cross the sea merely by standing and staring at the water.” -Rabindranath Tagore Grief is huge. It’s an ocean. If we stopped to contemplate what was living in every nook and cranny of the ocean and what could happen to us if we went to varying depths, we might become paralyzed. Grief hasContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Step On In”
Monday Meditation: Fall Now, Stand Later
“If you fell down yesterday, Stand up today.” -H.G. Wells One of the most significant misunderstandings concerning grief is the belief that grief is a one-and-done experience: loss happens, you get sad, you gradually become happier, and then, one day, grief is gone for good. The belief is helpful to grief supporters, who sometimes actContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Fall Now, Stand Later”
Monday Mediation: Rest Slowly
“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” -Confucius Rest plus quiet does not equal stopping. It means going slowly. In the act of lying fallow, the ground continues to engage life as the soil replenishes its nutrients and prepares itself for planting again. The action is happeningContinueContinue reading “Monday Mediation: Rest Slowly”
Monday Meditation: Is Loved and Lost Better?
” ‘Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.” -Alfred Lord Tennyson Is it? Ask a griever in the pain of missing a loved one any day of the year whether it truly is better to have loved and lost. Some may say that the pain they experience isContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Is Loved and Lost Better?”
Monday Meditation: Quiet Reconnection
“Learn to be quiet enough to hear the genuine within yourself so that you can hear it in others.” -Marian Wright Edelman Learning to sit in quiet is a skill that takes time to develop. The noise outside is loud and often penetrates deep inside us, making it hard to shut off. The noise canContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Quiet Reconnection”
Monday Meditation: Quiet Matters
“When you quiet your mind, you can enter a world of clarity, peace and understanding.” -Alice Coltrane Quiet is more than just the absence of noise. Quiet is a state of being that helps suppress distracting intrusions so that the right sounds can become loud and clear. For grievers, quiet is a golden elephant thatContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Quiet Matters”
Monday Meditation: To Rest, Surrender.
“Leave the rest to the gods.”* -Horace To rest, you have to stop expending energy in certain ways. Not only do you have to physically stop performing certain activities, but you also have to release depleting mental loads from your mind. It’s easy to see someone watching television and assume they are fully “at rest,”ContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: To Rest, Surrender.”
Monday Meditation: Lie Fallow
“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.” -Ovid Fallowing is a farming practice whereby a field is left unsown for a period of time to let the soil recover its nutrients and restore its moisture content. This recovery time later allows that same soil to grow a larger and better cropContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Lie Fallow”
Monday Meditation: A New Year Rest
“Rest when you are weary. Refresh and renew yourself, your body, your mind, your spirit. Then get back to work.” -Ralph Marston December used to be an exciting month, a tiring one, but one filled with the energy of holiday electricity. The final week of the year used to be a time when I wouldContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: A New Year Rest”
Monday Meditation: Rest.
“Take rest; a field that has rested gives a beautiful crop.” -Ovid A holiday shrouded in grief can range from tiring to exhausting. As we slide into the next new year, remember to rest. As we recover from the emotional turmoil holidays can bring, remember to rest. Give yourself a break. Take time for yourself:ContinueContinue reading “Monday Meditation: Rest.”