Mindfulness

We have a class in nursing that we all like to call "Feelings". It is actually called Self and Others, but is a class where we essentially talk about ourselves and our feelings, hence the name feelings. I may be the only person in the program who actually enjoys the class, but at the moment that is beside the point.

Today was our last day of class and to finish off the year we all did creative presentations. Presentations included everything from paper cranes to paintings to songs. It was actually a lot of fun to see what people came up with. There are some very creative people in my program!

Two of my friends made a video based on the following poem. I have asked them to send me the link to their video so I can post it later if you want to see it for yourself. It was very well done. At the end of their presentation they handed out copies of the poem they used and, because I appreciated the poem myself, I have decided to post it here for you to enjoy. 

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Mindfulness

Have you ever had the experience of stopping so completely,

Of being in your body so completely,

Of being in your life so completely,

That what you knew and what you didn't know,

That what had been and what was yet to come,

And the way things are right now,

No longer held even the slightest hint of anxiety or discord,

A moment of complete presence beyond striving,

Beyond mere acceptance,

Beyond the desire to escape or fix anything or plunge ahead,

A moment of pure being,

No longer in time,

A moment of pure seeing,

Pure feeling,

A moment in which life simply is,

And that 'is-ness' grabs you by all your senses,

All your memories,

By your very genes,

By your loves,

And welcomes you home,

That is a taste of mindfulness.

Jon Kabat-Zinn