{"id":901,"date":"2023-01-21T15:52:33","date_gmt":"2023-01-21T15:52:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/krista.longeway.ca\/?p=901"},"modified":"2024-07-01T16:38:34","modified_gmt":"2024-07-01T16:38:34","slug":"finding-centre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/krista.longeway.ca\/?p=901","title":{"rendered":"Finding Centre"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/krista.longeway.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Mindfulness-Meditation-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-900\" srcset=\"https:\/\/krista.longeway.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Mindfulness-Meditation-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/krista.longeway.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Mindfulness-Meditation-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/krista.longeway.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Mindfulness-Meditation-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1024px, 100vw\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\">Sometimes, my thoughts are filled with storms\u2026 worries and anxieties that may or may not come to pass\u2026 ruminations of past events that I wish had gone differently\u2026 and I wonder if it will ever feel quite right again.&nbsp; But I have now learned to intentionally stop these thoughts in their tracks.&nbsp; I tell myself to stop\u2026just stop thinking completely\u2026 be still for a moment\u2026 and in place of the thinking, open up my senses and notice the world around me.&nbsp; I mean <em>really<\/em> notice the myriad of tiny details that we completely overlook most of the time.&nbsp; I find this is most easily done outside, but it could be done anywhere.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\">I look at the leaves on my rose bush outside my front window\u2026 the tiny veins, weaving intricate patterns across the surface, the serrated edges, and way the sun shines through the leaf at just the right angle so that it is nearly transparent.&nbsp; I notice the pattern of the spider\u2019s web nearby.&nbsp; Each tiny strand, delicately woven together to form a unique design that is different from any other \u2026 I notice the bee buzzing nearby, bouncing from one flower to the next\u2026 I listen to the sounds around me, the soft sound of the wind in the leaves, the call of the bird nearby\u2026 I focus on how the sun feels on my face when I close my eyes\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\">When it\u2019s raining, I watch the way the droplets slowly form on my window, gradually growing fatter until they run down the pane and disappear.&nbsp; I focus on the sound of the drops as they patter against the window and fall into the puddles, leaving tiny ripples in the water below.&nbsp; I watch the clouds and notice the smell of damp earth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\">And as I do this, I breathe\u2026 very intentionally\u2026 very deeply.&nbsp; I breathe in the smells and sights and sounds around me and breathe out all the worry and fears that were milling about my thoughts.&nbsp; I visualize these thoughts leaving my body as the beauty around me cleanses me from the inside out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\">By stopping and focusing mindfully on these tiny details, I am no longer focusing on the fears and worries in my mind.&nbsp; For that moment, I am in another world entirely, filled with gratitude and wonder at the beauty that surrounds me. And often, this is enough to chase away my ruminations and put me on a more positive path.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-black-color has-text-color\">So what do you do when you can\u2019t step outside into your garden to practice mindfulness?&nbsp; When you\u2019re in the moment\u2026 in traffic, at work, listening to your children fuss by your side? \u2026 Remember, you can still breathe deeply\u2026 you can still visualize these things in your mind\u2026 you can still remember what the sun felt like on your face\u2026 By practicing mindfulness in the quiet moments, you can train your brain to recall these peaceful moments in times of stress.&nbsp; This takes time and practice.&nbsp; You are training your brain.&nbsp; But each time you do this, it becomes a little easier the next time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse has-text-align-center has-pale-ocean-gradient-background has-text-color has-background\" style=\"color:#04649b\">\n<strong>Centre<\/strong>\n-By Krista Longeway\n\nRolling thunder.\nPounding rain.\nRelentless winds that toss me to and fro.\n\nI take a breath\nand retreat \nto a place of calm\nsheltered from the storms of life.\n\nI am here by the stream,\nwith waters gently flowing past,\ntrickling over rocks\nsmooth and rounded\nby the gentle movement \nof water \nand time.\n\nIn this place, there is no time.\nOnly stillness,\nand the soft sound of the breeze\nrustling the leaves on the trees.\nTheir whispering \ninterrupted only by the cheerful call of birds \nhidden in the trees overhead.\n\nA single leaf \nfalls from above,\nsettling onto the water\u2019s surface\nand lazily floats downstream,\ndisappearing into the distance.\nI sit by the water\u2019s edge\non a large, smooth stone,\nand dip my fingers into the cool water.\nAnd the waters flow\ngently by.\n\nI take a breath\nand I am here,\nin peaceful solitude.\nAll else disappears\nand I am left \nwith only this place,\nthis moment in time.\nA lasting image\nof stillness and calm.\n\n<\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Sometimes, my thoughts are filled with storms\u2026 worries and anxieties that may or may not come to pass\u2026 ruminations of past events that I wish had gone differently\u2026 and I wonder if it will ever feel quite right again.&nbsp; But I have now learned to intentionally stop these thoughts in their tracks.&nbsp; I tell myself [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"off","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1,17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-901","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","category-the-forest"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - 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