It will soon officially be summer, although the summer heat has been with us for some time. Summer is supposed to allow for a little slower pace, time for vacation, time to refresh and renew, time for enjoyment. It’s a good time to check in with ourselves.
Life has a way of stretching us with multiple demands and expectations. It’s hard to keep up with it all. How are you living and breathing? If you’re finding yourself with a bit of an edge, a little more impatient, a bit depleted, irritated by others and noticing their rudeness and lack of respect, experiencing a lot of headaches, running a cycle of colds, stomach upset, body aches, these might be an indication of a need for a soul check.
Take some time just to breath in a way that draws you into the moment. Notice your breath. Breathe in to the count of 4 and slowly exhale to the count of 8. Draw your breath all the way into your belly with each count of 4. Just be present to yourself in this way for ten minutes.
Re-orient yourself to noticing the blessings and the beauty. Take time as you walk to notice the beauty of creation. Take time to notice the color, the texture and the taste of your food. Take time to notice the clerk in the store, the waiter in the restaurant, the delivery person, the yard worker, the person parking next to you at the grocery. Acknowledge them with a greeting. A smile or a good thought can bring a lift to another’s day. Notice, really notice your spouse, your child, your co-worker. Let yourself become aware of their goodness and all that they bring to your life. As you practice noticing—looking with appreciation—you might discover a whole life-giving flow in your day that you were missing.
I work a lot with incarcerated people. Prison is not a place given over to affirmation, care and beauty. It’s a hard place, filled with deprivation and it can be a pressure cooker with so many people confined so closely together. Right now, walking across the yard to the various units feels like being in an oven with all the heat reflecting off the concrete.
But some of the women I mentor have taught me the secret of noticing…the sky, the mother bird who has built a nest in the eaves, the prairie dogs just outside the fence, the person who holds the door open for you, the staff member who listens. I was able to draw on that wisdom recently. A woman I have been mentoring has been depressed, lonely and anxious. Her speech full of complaints about others. We talked about caring for ourselves in punishing circumstances. We talked about noticing and the importance of our orientation—are we looking for the bad or noticing the good? She decided to begin a month of noticing—looking with appreciation.
Prison has NOT become more hospitable or pleasant. It is still a hard and deprived environment. And yet, she is different. She stands taller and even looks younger. She recently told me about her insight into “all those things I used to complain about and how I wondered if I could survive. Every one of those circumstances fostered something new in me and helped me discover what is most important and who I really want to be. Now I know I can more than survive. I can become a better person through all the challenges. Things are still hard. Sometimes I just breathe. But I plan to leave here proud of myself and able to make it on the outside.”
Along with so many of the individuals we mentor, she is grateful for the soul care that you make possible. If you are interested in the prison soul care program or would like to explore soul care for yourself, contact us.
If you would like to make a soul care mentor possible for someone in prison:, donate now.