Effortless Progress: Getting somewhere without striving

A lot can happen in a week. And generally does.

Last week, as I tentatively placed a few raisins in each of their outstretched palms, and invited them to regard the little objects as though for the first time, they looked at me as though I had travelled to York not on the East Coast mainline, but off a spaceship from another planet.

This week whilst a few eyebrows gently lifted at several points during the second in a series of three mindfulness workshops, the commitment to open mindedness and willingness to trust the process were both in clear evidence.

Mindfulness is a little like a tap slowly dripping into a bucket. You can hear it before you can see it. You feel it even quicker. Today I invited those I worked alongside to jump into their experience, and throw themselves into the present moment. We joined together in several live experiments (for sometimes the 'being' is achieved through 'doing') and investigated with curiosity the results suspending judgment and introducing compassion to formulate outcomes.

As a teacher and a facilitator of the group process, I thoroughly enjoyed the day. I was deeply humbled by those who attended. I was moved by the spirit with which they participated and felt enormous warmth towards each of them, embarking on a journey they had not envisaged the destination of which they may never know. To provide a map and a compass was a pleasure and a privilege, and together we shared an appreciation of the scenery we noticed along the way.

Comments

Table. Apple. Penny.

Whilst there were several places I might have been that morning, I wouldn't have been anywhere else. The practitioner from the Memory Service arrived promptly. I liked her instantly. Mum was nervous. I think I was a little, too. It's been a difficult year. "It's Friday, it's the fourteenth of December and I'm at home..." No problems there. CAMCOG, or the Cambridge Cognitive Examination is a thorough assessment tool used to assess the extent of extent of dementia, and to assess the level of cognitive impairment. The standardised measure assesses orientation, language, memory, praxis, attention, abstract thinking, perception and calculation. "Table. Apple. Penny." Three everyday items that were introduced at one point, and then referred to again later on. Again, Mum was able to recall each. I am reminded that the...

Glass half full? Glass half empty? Or perhaps the glass is broken

I am, constitutionally, a glass half empty gal. I will always first acknowledge what I don't have, what I have lost, and what it is that I am seeking. I tend to overlook my strengths, concentrating only on those bits of me that are underdeveloped or weak. I refer to myself as a realist, but in doing so compliment myself and insult those who genuinely are simply realistic. My modus operandi is to identify what's not working and acknowledge this before seeing more clearly what functions perfectly well. This has its place: I edit others' written work pretty well. My fastidious attention to detail serves me, and the author. Accuracy counts, for me and I have an excellent memory. I can remember a great many of my sessions with clients verbatim. Even this asset is something I can, and do, diminish the true value of, by concentrating on 'I should have said...' or 'why didn't.... occur to me during the session?' Earlier this we...

Pausing in the sunshine

And so, chemo is over. My best friend's diary has been chocker... Line cleans, blood tests, scans and 18 weekly doses of the gruelling treatment itself. Summer seems at last to have arrived and with it, we hope, some time, peace and space. She is, we acknowledged over a rather yummy luncheon served to us beneath the beautiful canopy of creepers and climbers at Petersham Nurseries, an inspiration. A small group of us gathered to celebrate her forthcoming marriage. The sun's rays joined the warmth we all have for this very special woman. Warmth and, in my case at least, pride. It is the greatest privilege to call this woman my best friend. She continues to epitomise my understanding of grace. Our bodies are fragile things. Our minds are frailer still. In her composure and wisdom, she possesses an outlook I can only aspire to adopt. From you, dear Charlotte, I learn and I learn and I learn. The ...

The Reward is the Journey

Search This Blog