From the Early Church Fathers and the ancient writers of the East, to modern concepts of spirituality and psychological thought, “mindfulness” has become a way of staying in the present moment. What psychologists and psychotherapists know is the past cannot be altered and the future is not yet; but what we all have is the present moment. The way to deal with anxiety and depression is to savour the present moment.
BY Marie Casamento SGS
Eyes shuttered against the dark,
body wrapped in warmed coverlets,
my ears unfurl their inner coils
to receive the first shrill call
and clamour of young birds
as they excitedly greet this new day.
Hidden deep, camouflaged in leaves
atop the giant camphor laurel tree,
their cries for sustenance cut the early morning air.
Mindfully mindful
with the ear of my heart
I attend.
Mindfully mindful
with intuition of my inner soul
I savour the moment.
Mindfully mindful
I stretch every fibre of my being,
feel each pulse within the sleepy relaxation
of a night’s peaceful dreams
and unwind myself
to touch the earth barefoot.
The earthy scent of moistened earth
amid the carpet of new laid dew
rises to a mist
around my very soul.
Mindfully mindful
I attend with the ear of my heart.
Mindfully mindful
with the intuition of my inner soul
I savour.
Mindfully mindful
I take my first step,
breathing long and deep,
reaching the inner reaches of each lung
and then expire the air slowly, mindfully meaningfully,
only to gently
breathe in the energy and vibrancy
of the day that awaits me.
Again I take a second breath,
this time focusing perhaps on a nightmare
that may have disturbed and interrupted
my sleeping hours.
And as I expel the air,
I expel from my body the residue of that nightmare
and then take a third breath,
breathing deliberately now the goodness of this emerging day.
Mindfully mindful
I attend with the ear of my heart.
Mindfully mindful
I intuit with my inner soul
and savour the moment.
Mindfully mindful
lemon, lime, citrus tangs
hit my sense of smell with zest.
Yes! Yes!
The Golden Jubilee rose bush
is bursting with the scent of lime
and the glorious sunburst of golden lemons.
Through the window
a flamingoed flush of crimson
catches my eye
like a can-can dancer or a Spanish woman
twirling, furling her skirt
in the light of the rising sun.
A vibrant pink dahlia bloom
flounces her colours
to greet this new-born day
dancing to the castinetic rhythm of cicadas.
Mindfully mindful
I attend with the ear of my heart.
Mindfully mindful
I intuit with my inner soul
and savour the moment.
Mindfully mindful
the sound of crisp, crunchy
burnt brown toast
and the all-pervading aroma
of percolated coffee
bubbling on the stove
invites me to bite
taste
smell
feel
touch
this new day,
in this moment,
at this time.
Mindfully mindful
I attend with the ear of my heart.
Mindfully mindful
I intuit with the depth of my soul.
Mindfully mindful
of the moment
this ever-given gift
and ever-waiting invitation.
My fiat is called forth each second
to stay with the moment
in mindful mindfulness.
Ah! Yes!
Ah Yes!
Amen!
