§ We came to this world to LIVE OUT LOUD.
Abundance Is All Around You
I arrived at a Zen Buddhist meditation retreat this past Saturday all stressed out from the horrible traffic.
I had been going at a 100-miles-per-hour for the past couple of weeks and I wasn’t even sure that I wanted to be at the retreat. There was so much going on at home.
Within two hours of sitting meditation, walking meditation, the monastics’ smiling faces and much needed hugs from friends and strangers-soon-to-be-friends, I remembered why I came.
Time slowed down.
I slowed down.
I started to breathe deeply.
I started to notice the gorgeous sky
and mountains all around me.
I reveled in the silence.
I had brought my 8-year old daughter to the retreat with me and I wasn’t sure if she would get bored and clamor for my attention. But she seemed to get lost in the beauty and peace all around us and played from morning until night with a little boy who was there.
She called it “playing mediation.”
As the monastics encouraged us to focus on our breath and be present to the beauty of every moment, I was nearly brought to tears by the abundance all around me.
ABUNDANCE IS IN THE LITTLE THINGS AND SMALL MOMENTS.
We often look for it in the grand gestures and money flowing in… but it’s in the beautiful flower that we stop to smell, in the cup of tea we savor, in the heart-to-heart conversation with a dear friend, in the hug from a loved one.
It’s in breathing in deeply and connecting to our bodies, noticing the aches and tensions and releasing them.
It’s in the rain. The sunshine. The snow.
It’s in the painful feelings that come up when we sit in silence and start dealing with the situations we bury as we rush around our lives.
These feelings may be hard to be with, but they are a reminder of the abundant healing that lies ahead.
That was my experience, at least. While on day one, I was in heaven enjoying the stillness, by day two of the retreat, I found anger bubbling up, then fear, then frustration.
I did what the monastics encouraged us to do. I sat with my feelings, focusing on my breath, and imagined myself cradling my the painful ones in my arms as I would a tiny baby.
I walked, breathing deeply, conscious of every step, repeating the mantra the nun taught us, “Yes, yes. Thank you. Thank you.”
Gratitude for the abundance of all that was coming up. Knowing that all these feelings were a doorway to insight, understanding and ultimately, greater wisdom.
I left the retreat with very mixed emotions. I didn’t want it to end. I wanted to spend another week, at least, in this peace and solitude.
As we were leaving, we saw the most beautiful rainbow fill up the entire sky. A reminder that after the rain comes the beauty.
I recommitted yet again to living more mindfully in my daily life. To savoring the small moments. To noticing the abundance all around me.
What about you? Are you noticing the abundance all around you?
I encourage you to make it a practice today… take a few moments to breathe deeply and notice the beauty and abundance all around you.
Make it a practice to do this at least a few times a day and watch how your life changes.
And as always, you know I love hearing from you so please leave a comment below and connect.
Happy Tuesday!
xoxo,
