“MINDFULNESS”

Good Morning! This weather has been crazy. Hope all of you are surviving and staying warm. My radiation has been canceled all week. I guess it is good to not have to get out in the cold weather but I am so ready to be done with radiation. I have 7 more treatments left. Feeling decent, still tired at night and getting to bed early.

Going to bed early also leads me to getting up early. Today I was up at 4:15 and literally as I am stepping out of my bedroom the power went off. So most to the morning was doing some things when the power would come on and sitting in the dark breathing and thinking when the power was out. For me some of it was practicing, MINDFULNESS!

Here is a quote from, Thich Nhat Hahn. His writing has been such a blessing and help to me over the years.

“Waking up this morning I smile.

Twenty-four brand-new hours are before me.

I vow to live them deeply

and to learn to look at everything around me with the eye of compassion.”

Hahn is a Buddist Monk and someone who I respect very much. I want to use this also as an example for me. I am absolutely a Christ follower and that is my foundation for about everything in my life. Buddism for me in no way changes or impacts my relationship with Jesus. I simply have found some very basic practices taught that I believe connect beautifully with big ideas that Jesus taught.

My diagnosis of having a “terminal brain tumor” has honestly not thrown me into any kind of depression or despair. I keep saying this, the big challenge for me is dealing with how this impacts Natalie and my kids. I have had some understanding that this life is temporary. None of us live forever. Part of me is grateful that this process gives me some time to live well and prepare for my death.

Hahn’s quote is so helpful for me today. I want to wake up with a smile. To really embrace and do my best to live today well. To look around me with an eye of love and compassion. To eliminate judgement and simply practice more observation.

This weather has been a pain in the butt in several ways. Yesterday I got up in my attic and pulled out my hunting gear. I got my coveralls and hunting boots, put those on and went for a walk on the trails by the lake and through our neighborhood. It was amazing and another way to practice mindfulness. I did not have my earbuds in, simply walked and enjoyed being in God’s presence and his creation. Practicing mindfulness helps us live more in “today!”

This life is and can be very, very distracting. My concern for many is they simply don’t realize what is distracting them. Here would be another example from Hahn. “People say - time is money. But time is much more than money. Time is life.”

Natalie and I went to Whole Foods and dinner last Sunday. I noticed something I see all the time at restaurants. Again, trying to work from observation, not judgement. Sitting across from us was a younger couple with two kids. I glanced over at one point and mom and dad are scrolling through their phones and the kids are playing on some type of electronic device. I see this all the time. It is impossible to be connected with yourself and anybody else if we are connected to our electronics all the time.

Practicing mindfulness helps us get disconnected from technology and other distractions. We first have to be connected to ourselves in healthy ways to then connect well with others.

So I want to encourage you today. Think a little bit about your choices that actually keep you disconnected from yourself and ultimently more disconnected from key relationships in your life. Try taking 2-3 minutes a couple times in your day to simple breath and try to quiet your mind. This is challenging in the beginning and can seem pretty pointless, but over time it really starts to make a difference. You will also find with some consistency you will be able to add more time to this and it will bless your life.

If you are breathing this morning, most of us have today. Look around your world, see what matters and what you are grateful for. Practice living with gratitude! I am grateful for you and want to remind you that you are loved and of great value!!!

Peace,