Tag: Mindful Poetry

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Loving Kindness

Kickstarting 2025 with a Loving Kindness meditation as a means to express what we truly desire for ourselves, to open our hearts, free our voice and quiet anxiety and any other unwelcome feelings, in essence to heal. Done regularly, even if it seems mechanical and repetitive, we are manifesting and inviting what we wish for. As we wish ourselves and others well, dropping into the body, deeply feeling it. And if it feels uncomfortable or self-indulgent wishing yourself well or others, that’s alright, just continue saying phrases that genuinely resonate with you. There’s nothing to be forced or no particular feeling we must cultivate at each sitting. Just allowing each moment, each phrase to unfold naturally. The poem Wild Geese calls to us to direct self-love and kindness, announcing our place in the world.

Wild Geese, Mary Oliver

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting–
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Erica Leong, Unsplash

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Slowing Down – Starting With Sitting

For most part of 2024, we’ll be focusing on slowing down in our Wednesday Pause sessions. The starting point would be to sit.

Sitting lowers our center of gravity, enabling us to feel more grounded.

Then using the outbreath, we bring the mind back to reminding ourselves to slow down, to become conscious that we’re sitting, how we’re sitting.

The invitation is to practice this whenever you have moments to pause, say when you are in the train or bus. Even when you are driving and stopping to wait for the lights to turn green, you can check in with the body, reminding yourself to slow down, to notice how you are sitting.

What would the world do with me?, by JP

Why is it

that I only sit quietly

in the morning?

Am I allowed just

one breath

of wholeness

before the barrage

of the day?

What would happen

if I claimed

all my other breaths

in the name of peace –

of saving a life?

What would the world

do with me?

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Priscilla du Preez, Unsplash

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Slowing Down

Too often, we’re rushing from one idea, task, place to another. This is an invitation to just live – slowing down, and allowing the mind and body to unpack what is going on and process emotions and sensations. Inspired by Thich That Hahn’s poetry Drink Your Tea.

Drink your tea slowly and reverently,
as if it is the axis 
on which the world earth revolves 
– slowly, evenly, without 
rushing toward the future;
Live the actual moment.
Only this moment is life.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Alexander London

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Humbling

Patience is said to be a virtue to help us deal with distress or when things are not going our way. Underlying patience is humility, and so here’s a practice on humility. Humility is not about cancelling out our voice or lowering our self-esteem. Rather it’s the quiet confidence that we can go about our lives without needing overt validation. When we become like the bald eagle that flies towards the storm, only then can we go above it and become more.

surrendering like an eagle, Noelle Lim

if we remind ourselves of our imperfections

tell us we’re not good enough

punishing the fragile ego

life becomes a suffering

but what if we can be for changing

if answering setbacks

means leaving outside the ego

the enemy of courage locking us in a wallow 

instead, why not surrender and accept

on hand, a willing heart

to life’s irregular cracks and weathering

we’ll see the play of her seasons

and witness the glory of her possibilities

let life not beat us down

instead, accept her grand invitation

to climb onto her big, strong wings 

like those of the bald eagle

that flies towards the storm

gliding higher, gathering more strength, more speed

soaring above rain clouds

why let the ego keeps us on our knees

when we can fly above the gust

an eagle 

does not dwell on the size of her claws

nor apologises for her flaws

instead she opens up to the call of life

accepting a lift from the stormy winds

going higher, going further, she becomes more.

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Karina Vorozheeva, Unsplash

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To Be Still

To be still is to conserve energy. To be still is not to react nor rise to the bait of our thoughts and emotions. We’re cultivating the ability and willingness to just sit with what’s here instead of getting stuck in the loop of doing, grasping.

Inspiration sought from Pablo Neruda’s I Like For You To Be Still

I like for you to be still
And you seem far away
It sounds as though you are lamenting
A butterfly cooing like a dove
And you hear me from far away
And my voice does not reach you
Let me come to be still in your silence
And let me talk to you with your silence
That is bright as a lamp
Simple, as a ring
You are like the night
With its stillness and constellations
Your silence is that of a star
As remote and candid

Guide: Noelle Lim

Image credit: Ege Mese

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River

New River Gorge, Virginia, Appalachian Mountain

The river has a will

Since the beginning of time, ancient

With grand patience

Cutting through the hardest rocks of the Appalachians

Not across the easiest, bewildering many

Its journey a mystery

Over thousands of years, surely

Birds land to find sanctuary

Boats arrive bearing fortune

Fishing nets cast for food

Yet in its grandness, the river is impermanent

Can’t step into the same river twice

The river is a flow

Life is like that

Ever flowing, ever changing, never permanent

And sometimes a mystery.

Noelle L, 25.07.2020

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Lavender

Léonard Cotte, Unsplash

Its heady scent carried by the mistral

Perfuming the air near and far without ask

As provence blooms in arid midsummer

Drinking the sun, basking in prayer

One day pruned for new shoots

For nothing stays forever, such is life

So rejoice our place in the moment

When it’s time to take our leave

Go where the wind blows.

Noelle L, 18.07.2020

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I am the mountain

 Joshua Earle, Unsplash

I am the mountain

Snow falls, gone soon after winter

Spring clouds, drift by not a matter

Summer sunshine, only a fair friend

Autumn leaves, fall with an end

Seasons come and go

Yet I remain unmovable, to know

Winds come, rain falls, I don’t turn them away

Come what may 

Because I am the mountain.

Noelle L, 25.07.2020

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Silence

Ammerdown Centre, near Bath

On the road less travelled

I take nothing

I leave nothing

Except footprints

To hear the silence

When the birds stop singing

To find my way home.

Noelle L, 12.07.2020

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Aurora

CNN Travel, Okarito, South Island, New Zealand

My wish is to see the Aurora in New Zealand next year. Here’s my ode to it.

Leaping across the velvety sky

With the gods of wind, dancing

Over the wilderness into the deep South

Where all is quiet and still

Tonight, the Aurora

Lights my heart, lifts my hopes

And frees my spirit.

Noelle L, 12.07.2020

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Celebrate Today

Roxxie Blackham, Unsplash

A poem inspired by John Steinbeck’s novel Cannery Row, and borrows a line (Just this! Only this!) from Zen poet, Ryokan’s poem.

Up Cannery Row I sit

With my cigarettes lit

Writing my life story

For a buck, how sorry

Care not I feel 

Chapters won’t seal

But the sun is not having it

Coz it wants a bestseller hit

Demanding I run with the truth

When nothing is more true 

Than friendship and love

I don’t know about tomorrow

Sometimes I miss yesterday 

I only know this moment

Just this! Only this!

Have faith

And a good bathe

Make today the most

And cook a mean roast

In this blazing summer heat

Birds can’t stop singing to their unborn

Silence too has a beat

In perfection, we see order

But in brokenness, we see beauty

In love, we see possibilities

If you find yourself

Standing on a wreckage of emotions

Dance like a gypsy

Ride in a jeepney

My guide is today

My mantra is love

Born to love in Cannery Row

We sing

We dance

And celebrate today.

Noelle L, 05.07.2020

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Be Free

Fer Nando, Unsplash

In the gilded cage of desire

Fed with anxiety, dire

Feathers tremble with fear

Behind invisible bars, caged birds despair 


Thirsty they are, they say

Shooting the breeze all day

Never enough, never satisfied

Becoming prisoners of pride


Suffering comes to all

So sing the blues away at Preservation Hall

Hit those notes out of the park

For hope to make its mark


In the gilded cage of confusion

Flee the delusion

Leave your heart’s rue 

And may peace be upon you


When birds fill the dusky orange sky

Fellowship meets freedom

Bringing along wisdom

Making their way to heavenly kingdom


God made birds to fly

Not to live in cages

Break those chains, baby, break them

Lift those wings with might

And claim your birthright

Be free, my friends

Be free, and be at peace.

Noelle L, 04.07.2020

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A Hundred Days

Angie, Unsplash

When I was researching for this poem, I searched for what transforms in 100 days. Turns out that sunflowers take about that amount of time to develop seeds. And so I use sunflowers as the metaphor, and draw on William Blake’s poem “Ah Sunflower”. Enjoy!

Over a hundred days 

The sunflower blooms

From seed to full glory

The age of innocence

On dry, sandy prairie

Songs lost in a reverie

The sunflower springs unbidden

Nothing’s forbidden

Mind as pristine as the blue Nelson lakes

Life still has many takes

The coming of age

Gardeners come calling

Enough of lolling

Time to snip, snip

The baby’s bib

The sunflower grows, reaching for the sky

Petals wilder as the wind blows

The age of knowing

Weary of time

Blinded by anopia

For meaning in utopia

Yet in the air sowing scent

Turning sorrow into sweet summer brent

The sunflower hardy, ready to seed

Over a hundred days

The sunflower blooms 

From seed to full glory

Shedding tears

Slaying its fears

What about you, my friends?

Now go forth, seed your dreams

Reach for the sky 

Give to the world

All you can, like the sunflower

Noelle L, 26.06.2020

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The Train Journey

Marissa Beletti, Unsplash

Story-poem written and read by me as part of Calm in Chaos meditation series. The theme for the week was Intentions (Purpose). As a background, using the train journey a young lady takes from New Delhi to Bodh Gaya where Siddartha Gautama attained enlightenment.

New Delhi

The stationmaster of curiosity asks, “My dear, where are you heading?”

“To Bodh Gaya”, I reply, hoping to impress

“Ah, the City of Enlightenment.”

“Yes sir, I go there to find wisdom.”

“But my young lady, enlightenment is a journey, not the destination.”

*******

Inside the train, beside a small cracked window, I take my seat

A disheveled man jumps in as the train leaves. He sits across

“Let’s be friends,” he says, passing me a white daisy flower

“I escaped from prison.”

“Why do people run away?” I ask him

The train rumbles along 

“People run away when they have desires,” he says, 

And gets off at Lucknow.

*******

A lady in black makes an entry and sits across

“Let’s be friends,” she says, passing me her silky shawl

“My husband died, and left me penniless.”

“Do you have desires?” I ask her

People around murmur in conversation

“Desires and regrets are illusions, they’re not real,” she says,

And gets off at Varanasi.

*******

A soldier of one leg, hobbles in and sits across

“Let’s be friends,” he says, passing me his cross

“I lost my leg in the war.”

“Do you have regrets?” I ask him

Shadows of rolling hills pass us

“Regrets I have none, purpose is what I have,” he says,

And gets off at Sasaram.

*******

A man with a straw hat enters and sits across

“Let’s be friends,” he says, passing me his last piece of bread

“I am a tourist.”

“What is your purpose?” I ask him

Amidst the din of the train clatter

“I want to live kindly,” he says

*******

Final destination

The train comes to a gentle halt

A quiet end to its noisy symphony

The conductor helps me with my bags: “Where do you wish to go from here, missy?”

“I am where I need to be now,” I reply

“Ah my young lady, are you here to get enlightened?”

“No sir, enlightenment is the journey, not a destination,” I say

And get off at Bodh Gaya.

NoelleL, 19.06.2020

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Surrendering Like An Eagle

Mathew Schwartz, Unsplash

If we remind ourselves of our imperfections

Tell us we’re not good enough

Punishing the fragile ego

Life becomes a suffering.

But what if we can be for changing

If answering setbacks

Means leaving outside the ego

The enemy of courage locking us in a wallow.

Instead, why not surrender and accept

On hand, a willing heart

To life’s irregular cracks and weathering

We’ll see the play of her seasons

And witness the glory of her possibilities.

Let life not beat us down

Instead, accept her grand invitation

To climb onto her big, strong wings 

Like those of the bald eagle

That flies towards the storm

Gliding higher, gathering more strength, more speed

Soaring above rain clouds.

Why let the ego keeps us on our knees

When we can fly above the gust.

An eagle 

Does not dwell on the size of her claws

Nor apologises for her flaws

Instead she opens up to the call of life

Accepting a lift from the stormy winds

Going higher, going further, she becomes more.

Noelle L, 05.06.2020

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Clearing With Kindness

Ruxandra Mateiu, Unsplash

Poem written and read by me as part of Calm in Chaos meditation series.

Lying among daffodils

Basking in the golden sun

Feeling its warmth spreading over

Clearing us for sure

Shining into the cavities of the mind

Releasing thoughts from a bind

Freeing the heart

Of envy and rut

Undoing the knots of self-judgement

Lodged in the pits of disappointment

Soothing the nerves 

In the tempest of anxiety.

The sun, our steward

Does not desire reward

Clearing us with kindness

Not demanding to be finest

Departing when it’s time for rest.

Take cue from the sun

Who wants to go, let them go

Who wants to stay, welcome them

Who leaves footprints, let them be.

For to know courage

Is to have let go off someone’s hand

To know connection

Is to have held someone’s hand.

To know kindness

Is to be like the sun

That knows its rhythm 

Letting go when time is up

Yet always there, giving, never holding back.

Noelle L, 29.05.2020