#HaikuChallenge21 -- New Year, New Challenge

January heralds a new beginning, a new year, filled with both reflections and expectations. For the past several years, I have challenged myself and others to start the year with a daily mindfulness practice — in the form of creating a haiku informed by something you have noticed or experienced during the day. I post my haiku to this blog, as well as to Twitter (@pamressler), Facebook (facebook.com/stressresources) and Instagram (@stressresources) using the hashtag #HaikuChallenge21 Haiku are micro-poems, said in one breath and steeped in observation. You may choose to follow the anglicized format of 5-7-5 (three lines, first line 5 syllables, second line 7 syllables, third line 5 syllables) or be more free form with your haiku.

During the ongoing pandemic, I challenged myself to dig a bit deeper in observation and have been creating a daily haiku ever since March 17. My daily haiku are simple, and are paired with a snapshot of something I noticed that day. If a whole month of daily haiku seems to ambitious why not try a day or two? As our worlds have shrunk, they can also expand as we notice and observe more deeply. Wishing you and yours a safe, healthy, and mindful new year…filled with observations and beauty.

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reflecting on the past

observing in the present

ready for next steps

New Day, New Year, New Decade #HaikuChallenge20


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New Day, New Year, New Decade, Old You, New You…the new year is often filled with anticipation of change. How will this year be different, do we really want it to be so? For me writing haiku moves me gently into noticing and observing in new ways…January 1 is the perfect time for me to challenge myself in this way. For the past several years I have hosted a Haiku Challenge as a way to jump start mindfulness in the new year. I consider haiku morsels of mindfulness…delicious in their simplicity and awareness of the present moment. You do not need to consider yourself a poet to create haiku…and you don’t even need to follow the formula you probably learned in elementary school — three lines made up of 5 syllables, 7 syllables, 5 syllables. Modern haiku do not need the formal structure that we are familiar with, but certainly can be written in this pattern. They do need to be written in the present tense as an observation that evokes awareness, thought or emotion. I love the description I once read…”a haiku is a poem that can be said in one breath”. 

Come play in the haiku sandbox this January with like-minded folks! I will be writing one haiku a day for the month of January and posting them on my blog (StressResources.com/blog) Facebook (StressResources) Twitter (@pamressler) and Instagram (@StressResources) using the hashtags #HaikuChallenge20. Feel free to join in each day or only occasionally…be sure to share the hashtag #HaikuChallenge20 with friends…and let’s get writing! 

Here is today’s first haiku of the new year #haikuchallenge20

First day of new year

letting go while holding on

push, pull of old, new

Let's Meet 2017 with Hygge and Mindful Soup

A new year is unfolding....

 I have been considering how we create comfort during  challenging times, apparently I am not alone in the urge to cocoon. I recently read an article in the New York Times on the Danish concept of hygge (pronouned HOO-gah) which is an all encompassing way of embracing coziness and warmth -- body, mind and spirit. In considering this concept, I was drawn to one of the comments I received in November when I asked readers what they wished they had had when they were caregivers to loved ones who were seriously ill...I received a response that was profound in its simplicity and accuracy...it simply stated "I needed soup" (thank you LL). Yes! Exactly! That's hygge! 

What better way to comfort ourselves during challenging times than with a bowl of hearty soup. Soup exemplifies the tenants of mindfulness...it does not have to have perfect or expensive ingredients, it can't be rushed, you need to turn the high heat down and let it simmer (as with our thoughts in meditation) and it soothes and warms the body, mind and spirit from the inside out. 

So this January to help you get started in the practice of hygge...let's share soup together. While it may be impossible to physically gather around a table in my house or yours, I invite you to join me and others in a virtual sharing of soup.  I will be posting soup recipes throughout the month of January and would love your contributions. You may either post them directly in the comment section of the blog posts or you may email them to me (pressler@StressResources.com)and I will post them on the Stress Resources blog. Do you have a story that goes with a recipe...share it with us! I hope that the recipes will connect and inspire us all to practice hygge this January.

To get us started, here is a favorite recipe of mine...enjoy!

 

Slow Cooker Chicken Noodle Soup

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 cups carrots, peeled and chopped

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, chopped

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

3 T extra virgin olive oil

3 T butter

1/2 t dried basil

1/2 t dried oregano

6 cups chicken broth

1 cup water

Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

24 oz egg noodles

In a 6 quart crockpot add in whole chicken breasts, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, olive oil, butter, basil, oregano. Next add in chicken broth, water and season with salt and pepper.

Cover and cook on low hear for 6-7 hours

Remove cooked chicken breasts and cut into bite-sized pieces. Place chicken back into the slow cooker. Now add in egg noodles. Cover and cook just until noodles are tender.