Need a Break From the Waiting?

Is your energy consumed by the election results or other concerns that are out of your direct control? Let’s give your sweet spirit a much-needed break.

Sometime during this weekend, select a leaf and just be with it. Your leaf may be one that has fallen to the ground or it can still be attached to its tree. But choose one to gaze upon.

Gently place it in your hand. Observe your chosen leaf and spend a few moments getting to know it. Take note of its color, textures, veins, size, unique qualities that drew you to it.

Let the wide lens of life narrow as you hold your leaf. Be mindful of your breath as it moves in and out of your body. Deepen and slow it down, releasing tension in your muscles and nerves.

Invite the corners of your mouth to soften into a smile. Radiate love into your leaf. What made you choose that particular one? As you appreciate the beauty your special leaf, you may also notice that it has “imperfections.” Perhaps it has a hole in it. Maybe it has been chewed by a worm or bug. It is no less perfect. 

In Navajo art, the imperfections in each piece are intentional. Especially in the woven blankets, there is a thread of color that does not match the rest of the blanket or there is a broken, incomplete border. Each piece of art needs a “window” that allows the Creator’s Spirit to move in and out. It also requires that we embrace the imperfection in order to appreciate the whole.

As you appreciate and even admire these imperfections in your leaf, breathe into a gentle acceptance of the imperfections that make you uniquely you. Allow space for the Creator’s Spirit to move in and out of you and embrace yourself as a perfectly imperfect whole human being. Then extend that space to include others in the world around you.

May you find peace and may you stay enchanted.