“Forgiveness is giving up all hope of ever having a better past.” ~Lily Tomlin
by Camille Bird
“Forgiveness is giving up all hope of ever having a better past.”
~Lily Tomlin
How are you?
.
.
How many times a day do I ask others “How are you?” as a passing by, as a habit, as a greeting.
Hi! How are you? I’d like a small coffee please. Cream no sugar. Thanks.
Hihowareyou. I’m here to pick up my _________.
Hello….good thanks how are you? I have an appointment.
And then my social media offers me a “memory” and I time travel somewhere deep in my shadow work and when I come back up gasping for air I notice that it’s not just how I greet others. This disjointed hello with a question you don’t intend to answer because I don’t intend to pause long enough to hear one.
I am also doing this with me.
Time to return to a few practices from long ago and also try on some new ones. Let’s share some ways we are connecting to ourselves EVERYDAY. I know if I do this EVERYDAY I can witness shifting. I can sift through the shadows. I can experience new sensations in relation to my body and my spirit.
In my experience, there are a few ways I can create practices that I show up to with frequency:
Gently release expectations on outcomes. When I notice I am sitting in the future (even if I am enjoying it) I can say “Thank you for this idea. I’m going back to the present moment now.”
I am more excited about practicing for 6 minutes 10 times a day EVERYDAY than I am about practicing for one continuous hour. The more I can show up to a practice the more a practice can weave into my everyday life.
Utilize daily tasks as mindfulness practices and return to the breath or the mantra when these tasks present themselves. Folding laundry or doing dishes offer the opportunity to be present for the duration of the task. “I’m washing a spoon. I’m washing a plate. I’m washing this pan…………..still washing this pan.” My favorite walking meditation is scooping the dog poop in the yard. The more mindfully I show up to this task the less likely I am to step in the dukkha (a Sanskrit word for suffering).
Now that I’ve got some ground rules for my practice and I am fluent in returning to the present moment, how can I apply this to the disconnected greeting to myself.
I decided to get a journal out and I printed off that picture that social media offered me. I taped it to the next empty page and I began……..”Hello. How are you?” and then I let that person respond from the shadows.
Maybe…just maybe…I can work on this with myself to deepen my relationship with all of you.
Next time you see me when I say “Hello” I mean it. I’m already looking forward to hearing how you are. Oh gosh…..I just put us all in the future together.
Thank you for this idea. I’m going back to the present moment now.
I am what I have come from.
I see it. I feel it.
I know it is me and I am it.
I am the breaths I have taken.
I breathe in. I breathe out.
I know it breathes me and I breathe it.
I am where I am.
I see me. I feel me.
I know I see and I am seen.
I am this breathe.
I am here. I am this.
I am in the moment and of the moment.
.
.
How are you?
I mean it…how are you, friend?
Take your time. I really want to know.
Om Namo Guru Dev Namo