Ruminating or over-thinking, thinking in circles with no solution in sight, making inferences that are not valid, is exhausting and kills our wellbeing. This is an invitation to come home to ourselves, to be in the present moment instead of getting lost in the jungle of our striving, depressive and anxious thoughts. An act of coming home is to be present with the body or the breath. So each time we find our minds slipping away into rumination, we bring the mind back to the body, we come back home.
This draws inspiration from the poetry by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Coming Home To Myself. It speaks about mindfulness – savoring the present moment as it is.
I had wandered so long
I’d stopping missing or even looking for myself.
But I longed.
Although even that became muted,
an underwater echo, blue green, and easy to miss.
Each day now a little more of who I am
is retrieved from the ocean floor:
the pleasure of my own cooking—
fresh eggs scrambled
with rosemary, and mushrooms, and sharp cheese;
the feel of silk across the back of my neck,
a cool caress to tender skin,
reawakening the need for touch;
the strength in my legs,
the joy of taking long strides with nowhere to go;
the quiet of the morning,
as I sit facing east just before the sun appears,
and then, the moment when the sun crests the horizon,
my gaze behind closed eyes flaring crimson and gold.
No recrimination for my absence
I am welcomed as the prodigal daughter
Longed for,
Looked for,
Home at last.
Guide: Noelle Lim
Duration: 20 minutes
Image credit: Tucker Good, Unsplash
Kindermind Center 