Slowing down in new perspectives
Has helped me hear my heartbeat
And catch the twinkle in my eye
At the woman in the mirror.
I am out of my routine and
realize how congested I was
by expectations and routines.
I feel lighter and renewed
A change in perspective
Is refreshing as it’s so easy
to get caught up
In the humdrum of life.
Daily routines become habits
Like wearing a watch on the same wrist,
Donning the same clothes
Rut after rut after rut.
I’m shaken up by
the shore and the shells
And the tides and the sand
Renewing my vision.
Sometimes shaking up life
Sifts out unwanted memories
Like the pain and loss of my
Spouse 14 years ago which I
Thought I dealt with only to find
It neatly delivered to my dream door
To revisit the cobwebs
Gathered there where I left off.
Change in perspectives unleash
My feet off my daily path
With new noises, sights and smells
And my senses are renewed.
The pandemic has shaken
perspectives awake for
Redefining and rearranging
The complacency.
I am the sun rise every day I awake
And embody the new day with
New energy, new thoughts
As I watch my world unfold
I am silence as I witness the sunset
holding my new perspectives
New ideas, new visions to
Percolate through my sleep.
I am grateful for the time I
Gift myself each day
as I embody the sunrise and sunset
in the world around me.
An amazing thing happens when you get honest with yourself and start doing what you love, what makes you happy. You stop wishing for the weekend. You stop merely looking forward to special events. You begin to live in each moment and you start feeling like a human being. You just ride the wave that is life, with this feeling of contentment and joy. You move fluidly, steadily, calm and grateful. A veil is lifted, and a whole new perspective is born.
Participants’ Reflections:
Thank you for reminding us that nature interrupts our busyness even when driving to the grocery or wherever we go, and observe some of the beautiful skies that we have here. It’s a miracle in itself. Just the beauty of the moon and the sun and all of it. I had two friends over yesterday, one of whom has had cancer a couple of times. They have found it has come back a third time. Her perspective yesterday was marvelous. She said she is 99.9% good. The way she is approaching this. And her partner has had family photos for years and years, and she is a compiling a list of stories after hearing from a relative she didn’t know she had. A change in perspective can come – now that we are in Covid – just by walking down the street. I met a new neighbor yesterday just walking. It was a very full day.
I was struck by the rhythm of rut after rut after rut. It feels familiar. And I was struck by the idea that that’s the rhythm of the waves, you know, repetitive over and over. I don’t know what to make of it, other than I sensed a resonance between the rut after rut and wave after wave. And then the way the waves mark the sand of a sandy beach. It was a confluence of images.
I got up this morning to see the sunrise, and I went down to the beach. And the wave after wave, and there is a scattering of people looking for what the waves bring in. That hit me as you were talking, that the waves all appear to be the same but there is always a difference in finding what the mundane brings. Thank you.
This morning, I wasn’t feeling very well. I had a difficult elimination because I hold on to stuff. When I sat down, my whole insides felt battered. When I started to try to meditate, that was front and center. What do I do with this? I heard your last sentence about changing perspectives. My first thought was I am not in control of who I am. My second thought was to breathe and to just quiet the mind and use the breath to go there and bring solace and serenity in, and breathe out discomfort. And things happened, gurgling began. It’s like my solar plexus and belly were thanking me for noticing them. I tend to forget about everything below my neck. Am I paying attention to any of it? And it’s knowing that meditation is not just about feeling some spiritual connection. It’s really about whatever is, it’s just I am. Just noticing what I need and to pause.
Elimination is like a taboo subject but I know my emotions reside in my intestines and stomach. And I’ve had problems all my life because of fear. I have less problems now because of what I’ve worked through and getting help. It is amazing how much emotions are held in our intestines and stomachs, and the whole process of letting go. Thank you for saying that.
At the very start, I didn’t think I could settle down. What I did was read Susan Jeffers’ ten affirmations ten times. It was good for me. I closed my eyes and said them. There is a Jewish prayer in the morning that talks about ‘thank you God for my feet being on the ground this morning.’ So I said ‘thank you for my feet being on the ground this morning going forth for another day.’ Because I need to be here and I am grateful to be here. Thank you everyone.
Saying affirmations, whether you believe them or not – words hold energy. And so that is wonderful and it helps you settle down.
I can think of saying something about every sense. Thank you for my eyes seeing the world whether it’s outside seeing or inside seeing. Thank you for my ears being able to hear.
My sister does a Native American greeting every morning. She thanks her ancestors, the moon, the sun.
What I got this morning was the in-breath and the out-breath, the sunrise and the sunset, and the waves ebbing and flowing, and the seasons of coming and going. It’s all a rhythm, a cycle. And we are all a part of that and in it.
In talking about patterns and waves, I started an embroidery project at the start of this pandemic. And I was wondering why it was appealing to me so much, and I realized the motion of pulling the needle out was like breathing in, and then going out. The rhythm is there. That’s what is for me as I listen to what everyone is saying.