Breathe in peace and tranquility through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "All the Ways to Name a Dragonfly", by Ellen Rowland.This version ends with music allowing you to drift off into sleep. All the Ways to Name a DragonflyWhat if your first thought upon wakingwas not of all you have to do, or how sadand frightening the world is, but this:I am alive. In a body. On a day I have never met.Hello, you beauty.What if, instead of reaching for a dark screen,you stood on the back porch of this weeping,sought the bay window of the sky seeping peachlight into your soul, or maybe slate, salmon,cerulean, painting the day alive with swathesof impossible color right before your eyes.What if, despite your knotted heart, you made a listof everyone you love, anthologized the weedsin your yard, collected seeds, feathers, and lost poems,made a lexicon of all the ways to name a dragonflyin this world: libellule, vážka, dreóilín, pilivesa, spāre.What if you then made something with your hands—a daisy chain, bread, a potholder, a salad of dandelions—and gave it to someone near, a neighbor, a child, a stranger,because the others are too far away. This matters, too.And what if, today, you allowed yourself to feel the rough huskof all you are—every fault, fear, scab and scar—so that the goalis not to be right or good, but to be whole. Like somethingslightly bruised in the fruit basket on the kitchen table, you sinkyour teeth in and bite anyway, like it’s the very first time.-Ellen Rowland Continue your mindfulness journey with Julie - through her writings. Her latest book is, "Gentle Currents: Poems of Pause & Peace", a collection of poems focusing on themes of nature, self-compassion, and tranquility.Her other books include,"SNAP: From Calm to Chaos", and "Life Falls Apart, But You Don't have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos". All are available on Amazon.com.Follow Julie on YouTube and Facebook at Mindful Methods for Life.comThis podcast is available on iTunes, iHeart, Blubrry and everywhere you listen to podcasts.
