When I think of a mindfulness practice or setting, I picture finding a quiet space to escape from the world and take some time to slow down and regroup. So I was surprised how the opening lines from Rumi’s “A Community of the Spirit” seemed to beckon me to come out into the world. There is much more to this poem, of course, but I like the idea of trying to mindfulness – and peace – within “the noisy street.”
Given that many in our nation’s schools may feel called to go into the streets in the weeks ahead, I thought these opening lines might help us find a way to bring a sense of mindfulness and community to these charged times.
A Community of the Spirit
— Rumi
There is a community of the spirit.
Join it, and feel the delight
of walking in the noisy street
and being the noise….
(Excerpt from Poetry of Presence)
Each Monday, I post part of a poem here and on our Facebook page. We don’t always have permission to reprint the entire poems, but we are allowed to post a few lines. So here is the first stanza to give you a sense of the poem and “food for thought” for your #Mindfulness Monday’s practice.
For the entire meal – you’ll find the full poem on page 27 of Poetry of Presence: An Anthology of Mindfulness Poems.
Cultivating Conversations and Community
Please feel free to post a word, a phrase, a short thought here in the blog’s comment section or on Facebook. Share the poem or invite a friend or fellow teacher to join us on #Mindfulness Mondays.
To further the conversation and the sense of being in this together, each week Phyllis Cole-Dai, co-editor of Poetry of Presence, or Megan Scribner, co-editor of Teaching with Heart, will respond to your comments. As we go along, we hope to have “guest appearances” from others — poets, mindfulness practitioners, teachers — who will respond to questions and comments posed by Mindfulness Mondays participants.
Poetry of Presence and Teaching with Heart
All the poems for our #Mindfulness Mondays will come from Poetry of Presence or Teaching with Heart. To enjoy the full poem each week, we encourage you to buy the two books. That way, we can all be “on the same page” and be in a virtual poetry club.
Click here to purchase Poetry of Presence and here for Teaching with Heart.
Poetry of Presence is also available through the Grayson Books, Barnes & Noble and Amazon. Teaching with Heart is also available through Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound and Amazon. As you may have noticed, I list Amazon last, because while Amazon may save you a few dollars, authors get a much higher percentage of the price and royalties when you buy their books directly from them or their publishers. Just saying…
photo credit: FRESHCOLD <a href=”http://www.flickr.com/photos/8498249@N05/31798914426″>London</a> via <a href=”http://photopin.com”>photopin</a> <a href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.0/”>(license)</a>
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