Give Yourself a Break!

It's hard to believe this is day six of the Mindfulness challenge. If you are feeling a bit overwhelmed by the daily practice, give yourself a break. If you've missed a couple of days - don't worry! These practices aren't going away. I want you to enjoy your practice, not find it to be a chore!

Perhaps today you could do one thing mindfully. It could be folding your clothes, washing your dishes, or walking. Any activity you do where you a fully present is a mindfulness one.

If you'd like some support - here is an eight-minute optional meditation that will help you relax and focus.

Poet, Angela Narciso Torres has a friend that turns anything into a mindfulness activity.

Chore

by Angela Narciso Torres

My friend turns anything into

prayer. Sweeping the leaves, shaving

his beard, washing dishes—

every act a purging

of what doesn’t serve. Today

I’m folding laundry. I start with jeans,

crisp from the dryer, smoothing the creases

then draping them on wooden hangers.

Shaking wrinkles from the sheets, I square

the corners the way Mother taught.

White T-shirts stacked flat on a shelf,

sundresses on felt hangers, sweaters

nestled in drawers. I find a place

for every blouse, every scarf, until

it feels inevitable. Order our days—

the remnant floats up from decades

of Sundays like words of a forgotten

song—in Your peace. My mantra:

fold, hang, repeat, the hamper

half-empty, the bureau warm

with balled-up socks.

~ “Chore” is from What Happens Is Neither

~ Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash