A Small Act of Rebellion

Hope is the thing with feathers (254)
Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.
-Emily Dickinson - 1830-1886

Poetry and meditation often go hand-in-hand.  It’s common for meditation teachers to start or finish a meditation by sharing a few lines of poetry.  Poems seem to open us up, somehow, so that we can directly experience life’s unfolding moments.  Poetry also helps us connect with our emotional life. During times when we need to plan, predict, and protect we may find ourselves shifting into triage mode, closing off a part of our existence so that we can focus all of our attention on problem solving.  

But our emotions, like poetry, can offer us wisdom and insight, and help us see the bigger picture.  If we shut out our emotions we are closing the door on an important part of our existence.  

It’s important to remember that we have incredible agency.  In times when we feel powerless, small acts of rebellion - small shifts from the path normally taken - can help us feel the truth of our resilience.  This coming week, we might all benefit from rebelling a bit by turning off the news and finding a poem or two to explore.  When you’ve found one that speaks to you, you might notice the emotions that it evokes, where those emotions show up in the body, and what it feels like to let them move through you.  You may explore, also, whether something has shifted as a result of reading the poem.  This act of reading poetry and being fully present for its effect on body, mind and spirit is a form of engaged meditation.

We’d love to know what poem moves you this week.  You can reply to this email, and we’ll post a list of recommended poems on our Facebook page, and in next week’s email.

In the meantime, it was Emily Dickinson’s 254th poem (above) which moved us today, and now, with each bird we see or hear, we are lifted up with a sense of hope.

May all beings everywhere feel safe, empowered, resilient and hopeful,

Your family at CMP

Guided Meditations

If you can't join us for one of our live meditations, or if a specific practice is calling you, there are dozens of recorded meditations on the Guided Meditations page under the Resources tab.  

We Need Your Support- Especially Now

All of our conference calls are free and open to the public, but donations are essential to our sustainability.  During the hiatus we aren't receiving programming revenue from libraries and we are offering four times as many sessions as we would normally.  

CMP is a licensed charity in the state of CT as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Checks can be mailed to Community Mindfulness Project, P.O. Box 1713, New Canaan, CT 06840. Credit cards are accepted in the Giving section of the website (www.CommunityMindfulnessProject.org). For donations of wired funds or appreciated securities, please email welcome@communitymind.org. Thank you!

Photo by Danielle Brigida, licensed under CC BY 2.0