How Mindfulness Has Helped Me Surfed the Waves of Challenge & Change
Four years ago this fall a LOT was going down in my life:
My husband and I decided to close the small mindfulness center we had opened in Durango just two years before…
I was beginning my first cycle of in-vitro fertilization.
One of my best friends was dying of cancer and passed away on November 29th.
And, four days before she died, I was diagnosed with Stage 2 non-Hodgkins lymphoma.
Remember that old cliché – “when it rains, I pours” ? Yep, I was feeling it that fall.
As I moved through all of the emotions that a new cancer diagnosis and an infertility journey can bring one of the things that was invaluable in helping me stay sane and grounded throughout it all was…
Having a daily mindfulness practice.
I’m not just talking about getting up in the morning and doing 20 minutes of meditation each day. Yes, that’s a piece of it.
But what I’ve found to be equally as valuable as my time on the cushion is how it helps me live my life off the cushion, the other 23.5 hours of the day.
I’m more calm, less reactive, and don’t get as caught up in my emotions as I used to years ago.
I respond from a place of wisdom and genuine caring more often.
I wake up and begin my days with gratitude and set an intention each day that aligns with what is important to me.
Essentially, I am living my life with greater attention/focus and greater intention.
In the last four years, a lot has unfolded. I’ve gone from living full-time in Colorado to dividing my time between Colorado and Hawaii… and now I’m back in Colorado full-time again.
I’ve gone through two cycles of IVF and ultimately, after it didn’t work I went through the deep emotional process of grieving the loss of not being able to have my own children.
And… in 2018 I began a two-year course of treatment after my cancer had progressed to Stage 3. Talk about learning to be with uncertainty!
M challenges this last few years have been cancer, infertility, and navigating the ups and downs of the business my husband and I created 5 years ago.
For you it might look like:
your marriage ending
trying to leave a soul-sucking job
your kid beign diagnosed with a serious learning disability
Retiring and wondering “What’s next in my life?”
Or maybe the day-to-day demands of being a stay-at-home Mom feel exhausting and you rarely find time just for yourself anymore
One thing I know for sure is that ife does not discriminate and we all face challenges.
The question is:
How do we choose to meet these tough times?
(The key word here being choice!)
As we bring more mindfulness into our experience, we are empowered to realize that while we can’t control other people and external circumstances we are always at choice around how we show up and respond to what’s happening.
Six years ago I took a course, The Mindful Life Program Foundations Course, that helped me understand this on an even deeper level. It changed my life and empowered me to see more clearly how I always have a choice in how I respond to what’s happening in my life.
It had such an impact on me that I decided I wanted to teach it… and I feel incredibly blessed to be ale to share these teachings and practices now with others. They’ve been invaluable as I’ve navigated the changes, losses, and ups and downs in my own life. And I’ve seen time and again the positive difference this course makes in the lives of its participants.
I’ll be teaching the course once last time this year beginning September 24th in Durango. You can read more about it here and I encourage you to sign up early if you’d like to join me!
I can’t think of a better gift to give yourself than learning some practical tools to help you cultivate greater happiness, wisdom and inner peace…. and living a life with greater attention and intention.
xo
Mindy