February 3 - Trail Invitation
The trail doesn't ask much of me. All I have to do is show up.
“Showing up is the act of bearing witness to people’s joy, pain, and true selves; validating their experiences; easing their load; and communicating that they are not alone in this life.” ~ Rachel Wilkerson Miller
The high temperature was 81°F/27.2°C in Austin yesterday and the forecast remains the same for the rest of this week. It has felt like a reprieve from the colder temperatures we’ve recently had. The warmth of the sun, kissing our skin and enveloping us, invites a sense of play and leisure. Though we know it may get cold again and it will also soon become incredibly hot.
To enjoy the Sunday afternoon outside, I decided to pass quite a bit of time at an off-leash dog trail with my dog, Dash. He loves our adventures, hopping around as soon as I say words like “walk”, “run”, and “hike”. The gentle breeze and lull of the trees swaying as the wind ran through the leaves felt like salve for my soul. Though I know this trail very well, I was pulled into the need to be completely present, unaware of what would be around the corner of the straight-away path. Would there be mud on the other side of the path, which I would then have to carefully traverse? Would there be a group of dogs that Dash would want to join? I didn’t know. All the trail asked of me was to put one foot forward and to keep walking, curious and aware.
When we practice mindfulness and don’t constantly multi-task, it can help our brains and nervous system calm down. We are suddenly focused on the conversation we are having with someone or every flavor of the meal we are enjoying. There is always a sense of rushing and running around; often harried and hurried, we miss so much beauty. We miss so much of our own landscape - what inspires us, what gives us hope, what teaches us where we need to heal a little bit more. I relish this about being in my body and connecting with my body - that acute awareness of what I am experiencing can pull me out of my head and into the lived experience of my current activity, whether I am practicing yoga, cooking dinner, actively listening to a grieving friend, or imagining the world, in color, of a book I am reading.
“Be where your feet are” is a proverb that I turn to as a reminder to stay present. If I am where my feet (body) are, I’m tending to my needs and to the needs of others. If i am where my feet are, then my breath and heart are also with me and I can show up for myself, just as I am. If I can show up for myself, just as I am, then perhaps I am also inviting someone else to show up, just as they are. If we are both showing up as we are, then perhaps we can be presence and love in the little corner of the world we are inhabiting at that time. there is a sense of wholeness and healing here - being whole and healing, together. God is with us.
The paths of trails remind me to be where my body is. I may miss something along the way. This, too, I’m reminded is a form of resistance. I can drift along a path, listening, feeling, touching, smelling, observing, living - resisting the noise and the pull to be anywhere but where my feet are. This is a gift. I want to treasure it.
Reflection:
Where can I practice mindfulness today, noticing sensations, my own breath, my thoughts and feelings? How can I be less harried and hurried in my day - however small that shift in my mind or activity may be? How can I show up for myself, just as I am and where can I invite someone else to show up just as they are?
Prayer:
God of Presence, thank You for this moment, for the gift of my breath and for the sense of being in my body. Help me live with intention, mindful of each moment and in the “now”. May I show up fully for myself - with patience and self-love for all that I experience in a day and all that is asked of me or all that I give. Guide me in tending to my heart and nourishing my spirit. Help me to also show up for others, with an open heart and a deep sense of presence for all that they are carrying. May we bear one another’s burdens and lift one another up. Help me be a vessel of compassion and a reflection of peace in a world of need. Remind me to thank those who are companions on my journey, those who are present for me and all that I go through. May each breath and step I take bring me closer to Love and to a deeper sense of who You are calling me to be in this life.