I'm Skylar Liberty Rose and today's meditation is an invitation to pause and pay attention.
Take a moment to get comfortable and then close your eyes.
Bring your awareness to your breath.
Notice the rise and fall of your chest as you inhale and exhale.
Without allowing yourself to be distracted,
Notice any noises or movement taking place in the environment you're in.
Maybe the breeze is gently blowing the curtain.
Maybe the rain is hitting the window ledge.
Maybe there's sounds drifting in from the street outside.
Or maybe it's quiet and still except for your body and breath.
Right here in this moment,
All you have to do is pause and pay attention.
Place your hand on your heart and ask,
What is happening now?
How can I be present now?
We are so fixated on what's happening next that we seldom,
If ever,
Stay present to what already is.
We are missing moments.
We are missing magic.
We are failing to see the majestic heart of the ordinary hour because we are willing it away as we set our sights on the next amazing thing.
Yet,
As soon as we have that future in front of us,
Even when that next amazing thing materialises,
We are already looking past it,
Already moving away from it because our attention strays but rarely stays.
We are desperately trying to feel the hunger in our hearts,
But we're not paying attention to the core of the craving.
Mindfulness benefits us in many ways.
It can lower any anxiety we might be experiencing.
It can be powerful for our immune systems by helping to reduce stress and overwhelm.
The speed that the world asks us to operate at is often unreasonable for our bodies and unforgiving for our hearts.
And in the relentlessness of the chasing,
In the urgency of the doing,
We're not seeing the gifts that surround us.
This is medicine.
Here are some things that I keep in the medicine cabinet of my mind to remind me of what I can gift myself when I simply pause and pay attention.
The way that sunlight and shadow create art on the walls of anywhere.
The smell of the first true summer evening of the season,
Before the humidity has started to seep into the days and there's nothing but promise in the air.
The papery texture of her skin as I kissed her cheek goodbye.
The sweet devotion of dogs and the soulfulness of their eyes.
Look into those liquid pools and tell me you don't believe in miracles.
The sanctuary of moments spent in solitude.
The beautiful deep breath of silence.
The flame of the candle flickering as it reminds me to move and shine and glow in my life before I simply burn out.
The moments between worlds when sleep hasn't yet left but the day hasn't quite started and I am not yet fully here or there but suspended between spaces where nothing but possibility is present.
The woman I locked eyes with during the march.
The slight nod that we each gave one another in recognition,
In fury,
In hope.
The knowledge that my body has never not loved me even when I've punished her,
Judged her,
Made her uncomfortable and caused her pain.
See how she shows up for me.
See how she stays.
The joyful welcome of the waves.
The salt water embrace that kickstarts my senses and reminds me to feel my life while I'm living it.
When I'm experiencing the deep ache of what it can sometimes feel like to be a woman in this world,
I take out these medicinal memories and I savour them.
I let the truth of them bring me back to life.
I let them lead me to a space where I marvel at how much magnificence there is in the world.
Despite our best efforts to overlook the moments we call ordinary,
These wonders still exist.
They still persist.
And they simply wait for us to notice them,
To be in them with presence and gratitude and love.
Today I invite you to notice the moments in your day that are masquerading as the mundane.
I invite you to open your eyes and your heart to what is trying to captivate you.
I invite you to allow yourself to be enchanted,
To be curious,
To witness the wonder of what is and experience the beautiful extraordinary that reveals itself when we pause and pay attention.
In your own time gently open your eyes.
Let your gaze be soft.
Let your breath be easy.
Let your awakening continue.
Thank you for being in this space with me today.
Sending love and gratitude from my heart to yours.
