American Beauty

Sometimes putting pen to paper comes with great ease and at other points, it can be quite challenging. This has been one of those seasons where the metaphorical pen well has often run dry. But as of late, I have been reflecting on recent lessons learned and how to codify my thoughts in a blog like this. I thought of many things, but what seemed to flourish for me is the insights gained from 2023.

In the United States, in this season, we have experienced defining legislation limiting the rights of many. We have seen diversity and inclusion weaponized to formulate factions, division and incubate fear. At the same time, we have also seen communities coalesce and move with solidarity toward the goal of our collective freedom.

Last summer, I joined millions of Americans in the tradition of celebrating the Fourth of July -a time marked in this region of the world for independence – represented by BBQs with friends and loved ones – and fireworks to close the day. Now, I see Independence Day not as a celebration of history, but rather a hope for the promise in tomorrow.

In the book, A Course in Miracles, love is spoken as not the opposite of hate, but the opposite of fear. The thought-leader Dr.  Brené Brown writes that the only way to combat hate is through connection. With those two truths in mind, perhaps in this season of Independence, we would all benefit from a reflection on the spaces where fear and hate reside – first within us, and then in the communities we are part.

Fear internally, for me manifest most often when I am looking in spaces other than myself for joy, for peace, for acceptance. The fear surfaces when I give the power of my joy, my peace, and my acceptance to people (and communities) that were never destined to hold that authority.  Hate is hard to carry when seen up close, and in this season, I take pause to ask “how” more than “why” to answer that great call offered by Brown. Asking the question of how is one’s fear developed, rather than why. Asking how did one decide to hate, or desire to diminish the voice and power of another rather than why. With the question “how” I seek to get at that illustrious virtue known as empathy.

Empathy for me is one of the keys to my freedom, which in my view (freedom) is the keystone of Independence. So, in this moment of reflection on the year recently passed, or as I share the pain of millions facing up to the harsh winter storms in recent weeks, I continue to seek freedom, liberation, and independence not just for the United States of America, but for the citizen whose care I have been entrusted most: ME.

Stay Mindful

With the new BA. 5 variant on the rise in the United States, I am regularly reminded that our time as a global community with COVID-19 is far from over. With each passing day and the happenings in our world surrounding the Pandemic and beyond; I remain present to the fact of my need to stay mindful.

Mindfulness is a practice I have discussed on many occasions and occupies a number of the pages of my book, The Invitation to Love – but the art of it cannot be stressed enough. With the proliferation of vaccines and therapeutics, many of us (myself included) have looked at the Pandemic as something in the rearview mirror, behind us, rather than with us currently. With COVID-19, there are risk in not being mindful to what is happening: rise in cases and rise in hospitalizations.

I see the Pandemic as a teacher of sorts and can serve as a metaphor for so many aspects of life. I think about (and ask myself the question) how I am mindful (or absent minded) in my relationships, how am I mindful of finances, how am I mindful of my health. Like COVID-19, I may not feel it, may not presently experience it, and I certainly don’t see it – nonetheless it is there.

The vaccine may not be an antidote to my finances, health and relationships, but mindfulness is….I am taking the time to reflect on my health –how I honor my body and what I put in it. I think about my finances as a relationship to foster and offer attention to; and finally, in my relationships, I stay mindful of a fact I first learned in the book, A Course in Miracles, that communication is one of our greatest acts of love. How am I communicating my needs, my hurts, my truths to the ones I love? – For me, these are vital questions.

We are in a season of new variants – variants in relationships, finances, health, an on-going list of considerations; and yes, COVID-19. With each new variant, may we be mindful of how we offer attention, respond, and prepare ourselves for the moment when this season (like the ones that came before it) changes.

Everyday Mindfulness by Melisa Steginus (a book review)

In the midst of the multitude of pandemics (racial, health, economic, and political) we are facing, Steginus’ work Everyday Mindfulness is good company for the journey. The book explores a practical step-by-step approach to exercise mindfulness and offers appreciated rationale for the practice. The book is broken into 108 days. An easy-to-follow daily practice, with different exercises corresponding with each day. At the end of each day there are a set of reflection questions which allow the reader an opportunity to get present to the impact of the practices of that particular day. What I like about this book is that it progresses overtime. In my view, it asks the reader to engage deeper and deeper into mindfulness as you move through the work.

I don’t know if this was the author’s explicit intention, but this work is something that I would come back to often, repeating the practices throughout my life. As I read, I was reminded that for me, mindfulness is like exercise – it is not something you do once and done, it’s a daily practice. In the same way physical exercise strengthens the body; mindfulness (as an exercise) strengthens our emotional and spiritual body. The book closes nicely, a quote toward the end truly resonated with me, “Trust yourself amid distractions. Trust that you have the capacity for your empowerment, fulfillment, and transformation. And trust that the world will be receptive to what you have to offer.” In a world filled with misgivings, this book, Everyday Mindfulness, and the invitations for growth populated throughout truly make it a friend and centering force in a time of many disruptions.