Dear You

Happy Monday. Early last week my mind was very busy; almost like there was a background movie playing that I was having a hard time shutting off. I focused a bit more on my meditation to try to connect and soften into what was underneath the clutter and I was reminded of this poem which became my message for the week. 

DEAR YOU, By Kaveri Patel

Dear you,

You who always have
so many things to do
so many places to be
your mind spinning like
fan blades at high speed
each moment always a blur
because you’re never still.
I know you’re tired.
I also know it’s not your fault.
The constant brain-buzz is like
a swarm of bees threatening
to sting if you close your eyes.
You’ve forgotten something again.
You need to prepare for that or else.
You should have done that differently.
What if you closed your eyes?
Would the world fall
apart without you?
Or would your mind
become the open sky
flock of thoughts
flying across the sunrise
as you just watched and smiled.The mat is a really great place to cultivate the practice of settling the mind and shutting down the extra dialogue. When we pay attention to the breath and the movement, it helps keep our mind more occupied and focused.

Allowing the mind to “become and open sky” can be more challenging off the mat as I experienced this week. So what do we do when that happens? We soften and we practice and with both of those together we can see that beautiful “sunrise” more often and “a flock of thoughts” fly by.