Lake Pend Orielle
As we move from a focus on creativity now to mindfulness, I want to start this blog series with an example of what mindfulness can be for us.
Nestled in the evergreen covered mountains of northern Idaho, in contrast to the plains of hot, arid parries leading to it, there is a deep, cold, clear lake. Ancient and beautiful, a result of massive floods and moving glaciers that carved through North America centuries ago, this lake is a unique and magnificent treasure. While the lake has it’s own movement on the surface, the wind and boaters and forces of the earth creating rolling waves, there is also this deeper feeling of peace and permanence and a calming reassurance.
The bright blue skies, the rich green trees, and the deep dark blue of the lake melt away my own set of rolling waves, waves of anxiety, depression, rolling pressures of raising and providing and nurturing my family while somehow managing a balance of wellness and ability for myself. As I stand in that place, in that moment and soak it all in, my soul is healed by the the deep blue promise of that natural wonder.
Now that we are home and life is picking up speed and pressure and responsibility again, with the likes of remote learning school looming for my five kids at home, and a pandemic whose social ramifications just keep piling up, I am drawn again and again to the safety and oasis of thought Lake Pend Orielle afforded me.
Our lives will ebb and flow with strain and trial. Mindfulness, the practice of choosing to focus on the quiet and physical awareness of now, can be a source of constant oasis in the arid plains of work and life and survival. It can be a prayerful, healing, awakening blessing as we ground ourselves in the now, remembering in Whom we trust. I look forward to these following weeks as we explore this concept together!