The Feel Of Mindfulness: Poems About The Present Moment
Mindfulness is more than a practice of meditation; it is a way of learning to connect with the present moment with greater awareness and acceptance. As a psychotherapist and meditation teacher, I like to explore these themes in poetry. In this chapter from my book about mindfulness, we look at some poems about the present moment.
There Is No Rush
There is no rush,
You are already there.
It is all around you.
It is in the moment,
And it is the moment.
There is nothing to be done,
And no one to do it.
No words spoken.
No rituals performed.
No sins cleansed.
Just an opening,
Just a realisation,
Just an acceptance.
Of silence,
Of the present,
Of reality.
As it is,
For what it is.
Two Leaves
Two leaves float down a river,
Pulled by the current of life.
Sometimes they take the same path,
Sometimes the river splits them up.
Yet even when apart,
They travel together.
Because all paths lead to the source,
Still, each journey may vary.
Where one leaf faces rocks and rapids,
The other leaf faces calm tranquillity.
Where one leaf feels the warmth of the sun,
The other leaf is beaten by rain.
At times, all leaves get stuck,
Blocked by debris or caught on a bank.
Or pulled under the surface and trapped.
At these times the leaves must wait.
Wait for another to knock it free.
Or for the flow to clear the way.
Or for the slow push of time itself,
To gently alter the river’s shape.
Then the leaves will float once more,
This interruption quickly forgotten,
Because the destination is the same,
No matter which path it took.
Play
Watching him play
I disappeared.
And in that space,
The world opened up.
Birdsong
Waking up to bitter coffee
and a birdsong.
Breath visible
in the crisp morning air.
Attention turns inward
finding nothing.
When You Look Inside
When you look inside,
Where does your attention go?
An internal energy,
A power
A flow.
When you observe the breath,
What do you now see?
A play of consciousness,
A freedom,
Serenity.
When you move the body,
What do you feel?
A sense of freedom,
A space,
An ideal.
Practices That Enhance Mindfulness
This chapter is from the book Mindfulness, A Guidebook to the Present Moment
