Each summer I return, as I have for decades, to a special place in northern Michigan. While our cast of family and friends expands and contracts each year, there are rituals that remain constant. One of the favorites is hunting for ubiquitous yet elusive Petoskey stones along the beaches of Lake Charlevoix and Lake Michigan. While Petoskey stones are common in this area they are also difficult to spot, unless one truly observes closely and carefully what is at one's feet. You can't rush the hunt, you can't predict where or when you will find a Petoskey stone hidden in plain sight. Surrendering to the moment, releasing expectations, cultivating curiosity and practicing patience are the secret ingredients to success in discovering a coveted Petoskey stone. What is right beneath our feet often remains undiscovered until we observe closely. Sounds a lot like mindfulness practice doesn't it? How do you cultivate mindfulness in your everyday life and in your special places?
Mindful Moments
"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference." ~Robert Frost
What road did you travel this summer? Did you make time to diverge from the usual to find the extraordinary in the ordinary? Mindfulness is about stepping off the well traveled road every once in a while to notice life as it unfolds in the present moment and not in the rearview mirror. I am grateful for these moments, which cannot be planned or anticipated but simply appear when one slows down to the speed of life.
What road did you travel this summer? Did you make time to diverge from the usual to find the
A few glimpses of my summer mindful moments are represented in the pictures below. I invite each of you to share reflections of your summer mindful moments, moments when the ordinary became the extraordinary, through photos, poems, or prose with my blogging community. Please email me your submissions and I will share them in future blog posts.
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| Lake Michigan Sunset |