Offering you space to place new steps of change.
Here, on the pulse of this fine day
You may have the courage
To look up and out upon me, the
Rock, the River, the Tree, your country.
No less to Midas than the mendicant.
No less to you now than the mastodon then.
Here on the pulse of this new day
You may have the grace to look up and out
And into your sister’s eyes, into
Your brother’s face, your country
And say simply
Very simply
With hope
Good morning.
~ Maya Angelou
Good morning. What if we chose every morning to really breathe in “good morning” for ourselves despite the sludge, the fears, the endless to-do list and our concerns from personal to global? How would it feel to decide to own our morning, even for just a few minutes?
This is our gift. This is our choice. Someone said to me the other day, “It’s dawning on me that from a bunch of different angles, you’re asking us to slow down, check in, give our intentions and values voice, say thank you, and bring our courageous souls to the world.” Yes, I smiled. And I teach what I most continue to deepen in my own learning. And it’s hard in our “never stop” culture.
But, as more and more universities bring academic rigor to researching mindfulness, intention and gratitude, the data continues to validate this message. It works. In improving leadership and organizations, it works. Check out Dr. Scott Snook’s work at Harvard Business School. In improving health outcomes, it works. Look up the data from Larry Dossey and Joe Dispenza. In improving self worth and deepening relationships, read Robert Holden.
At a recent workshop, Neurologist Dr. Richard Davidson from University of Wisconsin said that he believes his grandchildren will accept mindful breathing/mediation as healthy daily practice the way we think of brushing our teeth today. The data is that strong.
So instead of just celebrating the big things this summer like graduations, weddings, birthdays, holidays, try choosing every morning to celebrate the day and take a few minutes to breathe in love, say Good Morning to the sun, the birds, our bed, the flowers, our coffee, and give voice to our intentions and gratitude. This is the beginning of our own magic bullet and it lies within us every day.
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