Is Mind-mapping Mind Stress?

Image Credit: Tara Winstead

Visually organizing
ideas, capturing information
does it light a fire or burst into flames
is it worth the stress of conceptual claims?

More often than not, I seek solace by decluttering my mind with wannabes vs. actual achievements. Who am I trying to impress anyway? We grumble about the annoyance and exhaustion of turning the volume down so we can hear our thoughts and lower our blood pressure. While mind-mapping is information shaped into a hierarchy, showing relationships among pieces of the whole, I find the practice useful for work-related illustration purposes, yet for everyday internalization and consumption, nah, I think for the sake of serenity and sanity, I’ll pass.

Power of a Whispering Gaze

the sky is as blue as the ocean’s depths
accented with swirls of feathered strokes
ginormous white cotton balls of clouds
 the delight of a peaceful day
staring eyes wandering across this massive sphere

behold, on the crest of a melting wave of peace
in the sizzling light of a summer fading away
a pallid sky beyond the power of a whisper, I simply gaze.

©Kym Gordon Moore

A Peace That Surpasses All Understanding

Image Credit: Caique Nascimento

When we moved into our current house, everything was landscaped beautifully, but the backyard was rocky with sparse blades of grass popping up throughout the yard. We tried to put down lime, fertilizer, seed and then watered it, but nothing happened. It was a hit or miss with any signs of growth. It wasn’t until we tried to plant a few trees and floral bushes in the yard that we discovered so much trash, rags, and fast food wrappers, bags, and cups shallowly buried under the dirt and rubble that was suffocating any chance of anything growing, including weeds. After removing the garbage, the backyard now flourishes better than ever.

I learned that when you remove the distractions of garbage in and around your life, a calm comes over you and you develop greater clarity and hope. Uncertainty can be frightening, but you need not be fearful. Your senses are keener, your divine purpose is more refined, and you find peace in the midst of a storm. Throw out the trash of hatred, jealousy, manipulation, greed, corruption, narcissism, envy, complicity, and bigotry, just to name a few. This stuff can be overwhelming and destructive.

When we reflect on why our growth may be stunted, perhaps we need to throw out the garbage cluttering our mind, spirit, and body, and allow it to dwell in its rightful location where it belongs…with other trash in the garbage dump.

The Sanctuary

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Where is your place of protection and refuge

where the spirit of tranquility douses you with peace

an extension of the sacred space where predators dare not cross

where anxiousness does not flourish but cease.

© Kym Gordon Moore

Everyone has some type of safe haven, where they can escape for a bit of respite and recharging. Do you have a favorite place, your personal sanctuary, where you feel you can quietly unwind and fall into the arms of tranquility? If you don’t have one or haven’t thought about it, then by all means find that place as soon as you can. It could be a quiet nook in your home or a quaint spot in your backyard. You cannot imagine the benefits, and how therapeutic your sanctuary can be.

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It’s Okay to Be Still

Image Credit: Sasha Freemind

Be still.
Let the power of this moment put your list of tasks on hold.

Be still.
Give yourself permission to relax and allow your mind to breathe.

Be still.
Let your spirit be quiet and heal from the vexations of unrest.

Be still.

©Kym Gordon Moore

Today, give yourself a break if you can. As we sit here, staring at our screens, typing something we hope is meaningful and useful to share with others, we can overextend our intent and exhaust our capacity. Amid the great storms that rattle our sense of peace, I want you to take a little time right now, and give yourself permission to stop, breathe in deeply, exhale liberally, and just be still. Trust me, there is nothing wrong with that.

🏃🏾‍♀️ The Great Escape

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What do you do, or where do you go to get away from it all? We may feel overwhelmed by stuff, and much of the time that stuff is not something we created. I know what I do to escape the craziness that tries to hit every point of my sanity, but what do you do to escape the craziness that tries to creep into your spirit, take away your joy, and shut you down? Do you pray? Do you shop? Do you take a trip? Do you take a walk in nature? Do you drink a cup of tea or take a long bath? Do you read? Do you dance?

Behind me, in a sometimes rapid chase
dread tries to steal my joy
but it can’t if I don’t allow it
does it think it’s playing with a toy?

I know I’ll certainly face challenges
this I know to be true
but the outcome based on my attitude
victory lines up, depending on what I do.

© Kym Gordon Moore

Tea, Poetry, and Me

Image Credit: Prchi Palwe

Today, I am lying back, sipping on several cups of tea from sample pouches one of my dearest friends sent me as a gift. There is something so magical when pairing a cup of tea with reading poetry.

Submerged in comfort
tea leaves brewed in hot water
a reali-tea

populari-tea
Camellia Sinensis
pure sereni-tea.

© Kym Gordon Moore

This month, in the U.S., we are celebrating National Hot Tea Month. Sipping on a cup of hot tea in a southern region where drinking sweetened iced tea is a norm, there is something more exhilarating while drinking this hot brew that results from the Camellia Sinensis plant. The amenities of the health benefits and tranquility from drinking hot tea are like a levitation into the ethos of the universe.

So as I sit here, sipping on a cup of hot lemon tea while thumbing through some of the poems found in my 70s college textbook, “The Norton Anthology of Modern Poetry” is a nice way to rediscover the artistry of poets that I didn’t learn about previously. What type of poetry do you pair with a particular flavor of tea? What is the common thread we share on a global plane with the love and joy of sipping on a cup of hot tea?

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Oh, what a glorious day!

Image Credit: Anaya Katlego

After putting on a pot of coffee to percolate this morning, I walked to one of the windows facing the backyard and knelt down on the floor. This is my personal quiet time to pause before the hustle and bustle of the day begins. I breathe in slowly with my eyes closed. I am grateful for this time that I am free to just sit, and be.

When I open my eyes, I slowly scan the yard. Some of the trees have lost all of their leaves, and some of the oaks have yet to lose all of theirs even though the colors of autumn still remain in tack. Squirrels leap through the limbs of trees, and the early birds feast on freshly picked worms from the grass.

Although I slept well last night, I still feel exhausted. Perhaps it’s because I learned about several people who passed away in the last seven days. I’m still trying to digest all of this but I know that even though death is a part of life’s evolution, my heart still aches for all of us who suffer from the pains of grief, trying to take it one day at a time, one step at a time.

Yet at this moment, as I kneel here, watching the mallard ducks waddling out of the water headed towards my backyard, one of our Redtail hawks glides through the air like a kite on a breezy day, and the blue heron slowly and methodically strides along the water’s edge, trying to nab a fish. And, I think, life is still good, despite the disappointments. Suddenly, the coffee maker beeps, knocking me out of my temporary trance, and letting me know the coffee is ready.

But I don’t get up just yet. I am content with the peace that fills my gratitude meter in this present moment. Surprisingly, I no longer feel exhausted but energized. As I look up, the gray clouds are rolling away, revealing a marine blue sky and fluffy white clouds. That’s what hope looks like, and I like it like that. Even as my knees crack, I am still able to get up and praise my way through this new day.

Yes, I am hopeful. And while hope is not something we have, it is something we practice, every day! Have a FANtabulous day filled with gratitude and hope everyone!

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Thought for Today: Hit the Mute Button

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There’s a lot of noise and distractions swirling around us today. There are far too many people who seem to have things in order or those trying to do the right thing, who are falling into a trap of anxiety, panic attacks, feeling gloomy, and overwhelmed. Enough already! Enough already! Enough!

Tomorrow is not here and not promised. Yesterday is long gone, and there is nothing you can do about it. So step away for a while today. Push your mute button to silence the noise that’s aggravating you, and hit your pause button to freeze-frame the swirls of chaos trying to make you dizzy. Your health, your heart, your mind, and your spirit need not suffer due to the outside craziness. Not today, and tomorrow ain’t lookin’ too good either! Hit your mute button when you need to, and as often as you need to.

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Serenity: C’est la vie (That’s Life)

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I know we are acquainted with The Serenity Prayer, and we’ve recited it several times when the crazy gets crazier. This prayer, written by American theologian Reinhold Niebuhr is commonly seen on the medallion for Alcoholics Anonymous. 

This morning, I personally applied my faculties to this prayer:
God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
(This applies to the systemic behavior and attitudes of others, conditions and dysfunctions I cannot redirect or cure, and universal problems creating turmoil around the world that I am unable to stop and is above my paygrade)
courage to change the things I can,
(This pertains to things within my grasp and control, such as my character, conversation, and conduct, as I look my best, be my best, and do my best)
and wisdom to know the difference
(Through faith, hope and discernment, I must adjust my attitude to do what I can and leave the rest to someone else more qualified to do what I can’t).

For this moment of self-awareness, I focus on what I can do, and what I can’t, well, “c’est la vie.” That’s how things happen.

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