Stillness: Study 16
From sleep, I wake, and I take my waking slow. (I couldn’t resist using this line from Roethke’s villanelle, The Waking.”) I move, and I move, and I move. I love to move. I have always really enjoyed physical activities. As a child, I was always running through the woods and meadows and along streams with wild abandon. I always was involved in sports and dance at school. I love my body and all of the things I am able to do: walking, bicycling, gardening, doing pilates, qigong, and yoga. Building, cleaning, simply going about all of my day to day tasks as I live the life I love, I try to remember to be mindful in all of these activities. In mindfulness, joy abounds- even with the smallest of tasks like peeling oranges or standing in tadasana watching the flight of a hawk. Today, one of the quotes I am posting here is by Amit Ray who suggests, “Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.” I want to add to this — and in witnessing, also realizing our oneness with the dance.
My body moves in mindfulness, peace stays.
I move and I am fully present. I go about my day to day routines, and I take the stillness I have cultivated within with me as my beautiful companion.
“The peace that comes with surrendered action turns to a sense of aliveness when you actually enjoy what you are doing.”
Making a Connection Through Art Journaling
I am posting this short video showing you how I cultivate stillness through art and nature. Enjoy!
“Life is a dance. Mindfulness is witnessing that dance.”
Blessings
Thank you for joining me today. Please leave a comment below; I would love to hear from you. If you are drawing snowflakes with me, please leave pictures in the comments or post them on Instagram and #themustardseednews so I can be sure to see them. Sending you love and light ~ Peace for now ~
December Reading List
Silence: The Power of Quiet in a World Full of Noise by Thich Nhat Hanh
Stillness Speaks by Eckhart Tolle
Too Deep for Words by Thelma Hall
Snow Crystals (Dover Pictorial Archive) by W.A. Bentley
“Be Still”
Today I am thankful for the stillness I can find even in the midst of everything around me.