Day 29 -- #HaikuChallenge22

January 29, 2022 Pamela Ressler

juxtaposition/

snow is falling, wind howling/

sunshine in a jar

Day 26 -- #HaikuChallenge22

January 26, 2022 Pamela Ressler

layers and patterns/

with otherworldly textures/

gumbo limbo tree

Day 23 -- #HaikuChallenge22

January 23, 2022 Pamela Ressler

shimmer of raindrops/

leaves stand tall despite a storm/

remain vibrant, bold

Day 22 -- #HaikuChallenge22

January 22, 2022 Pamela Ressler

step by step by step/

foot gently kisses the earth/

transfer of wisdom

Day 21 -- #HaikuChallenge22

January 21, 2022 Pamela Ressler

a quiet moment/

eyes meet in the foliage/

greet and coexist

Day 15 -- #HaikuChallenge22

January 15, 2022 Pamela Ressler

carpet of shells

crunch and shift on the soft sand

never permanent

Day 12 -- #HaikuChallenge22

January 12, 2022 Pamela Ressler

nature’s kintsugi

broken but re-formed by waves

my gift from the sea

Reset, Reboot, and Recalibrate for the New Year

December 31, 2021 Pamela Ressler

For several years I have hosted a Haiku Challenge each January — an invitation to join me and others in an intentional reset of mindfulness as begin a new year. For me, this year the Haiku Challenge seems even more essential as we are still in a state of navigating the ebb and flow of COVID-19 in our society. As we continue to try to make sense of how to maintain safety while remaining connected we are in a state of continual recalibration. For me, dropping into the process of observing and then creating a haiku based on that observation is calming, healing, and helps me to form new ways of recalibrating myself in relationship to the world around me. The Haiku Challenge is meant to be a gentle reset, reboot, and recalibration into 2022. Join me and friends from around the globe in this 31-day challenge!

Here are the guidelines:

Write one haiku a day for the month of January. The Japanese form of poetry called haiku is simple yet profound and pares down our observations to the essence. A haiku is a short sensory thought/poem that captures a feeling or image through words. You may choose to simply observe and write three lines or use the familiar structure of 5-7-5 format ( the one that you may remember from elementary school...first line is 5 syllables, second line is 7 syllables and third line is 5 syllables for a total of a 17 syllable poem/thought.)

Mindfulness is about paying attention to the present moment and so is the writing of a haiku. If you would like to share your haiku, we will be using the hashtag #haikuchallenge22 to aggregate the haiku. I will be posting daily to Twitter (@pamressler), Instagram (@stressresources), Facebook (StressResources), as well as to my blog (StressResources.com/blog). You may also paste your haiku into the comment section of each day's haiku on my blog. I can't wait to read them!

Happy Haikuing,

Pam

#HaikuChallenge21 -- Mindfulness

July 19, 2021 Pamela Ressler

daily reminder

so simple but not easy —

mindfulness moments

#HaikuChallenge21 -- Fireworks

July 4, 2021 Pamela Ressler

watching the night sky

explode with dazzling color

then touch the water

New Year Lost and Found

January 6, 2021 Pamela Ressler

i am running into a new year
and the old years blow back
like a wind
that i catch in my hair
like strong fingers like
all my old promises and
it will be hard to let go
of what i said to myself
when i was sixteen and
twentysix and thirtysix
even thirtysix but
i am running into a new year
and i beg what i love and
i leave to forgive me
~Lucille Clifford

As you run into a new year, what are you carrying? We never enter a new year with the slate wiped clean. Our expectations, aspirations, judgements, promises and resolutions come with us. It becomes harder and harder to carry our ever-expanding load without letting go of that which is no longer helpful or useful to us. The new year presents an opportunity to assess our personal lost and found box. My tendency is to go in search of a larger box, holding tightly to everything, instead of discerning what can be gratefully and gracefully released at this point in my life. Mindfulness can help us notice what we can discard, rediscover what we may have lost through the years, and find unexpected treasures. I invite you to join me in loosening the grip on what we carry this year and discovering what is actually in our lost and found box.

Wishing you a safe, healthy, and mindful new year

#HaikuChallenge20 -- Frozen

December 29, 2020 Pamela Ressler

encapsulated

artifacts frozen in time

remembering fall

#HaikuChallenge20 -- Touchstones

December 9, 2020 Pamela Ressler

personal touchstones

reminders in my pocket

what do you carry?

#HaikuChallenge20 -- Cup of Calm

December 2, 2020 Pamela Ressler

the end of the day

tuning out to then tune in —

soothing cup of calm

#HaikuChallenge20 -- Finale

November 20, 2020 Pamela Ressler

blazing finale

last performance of the day

sinking into night

Giving Thanks During a Pandemic

November 19, 2020 Pamela Ressler

Thanksgiving will look different this year and that is out of our control...but what is within our control is how might we create new ways to give and receive gratitude, kindness and compassion?

Here are some suggestions -- what would you add to the list posted by Dear Pandemic? If you are looking for some guided mindfulness meditations, check out StressResources.com/resouces or my meditations on https://insighttimer.com/pam

From Dear Pandemic: "But what do we do with ourselves on Turkey day? Here are a few safer alternatives. Take your pick, or mix and match!

Have an outdoor gathering of local friends & family. You can spend some time together (keep it brief) and enjoy some hot apple cider or pie. Since you are not likely to be wearing masks while you eat and drink, keep your distance between household bubbles! Too cold? Have a bonfire--or just wear your snowmobile suit!
Secret Turkey your neighbors. Write anonymous thank-you notes and drop them in neighbors’ mailboxes. Challenge them to do the same to spread the spirit of thankfulness all over your neighborhood.
Have a food drive. Post on Nextdoor that you’re collecting donations, put a bin on your doorstep, and let people drop off non-perishable food. Then take it to the local food pantry.
Cook Thanksgiving dinner in advance and drop off trays to your family members. You can leave it on the porch or meet them at the door. Have your ingredients delivered from the grocery store and stock up on aluminum trays this week!
Do some mindfulness meditations that focus on gratitude. Just google “gratitude meditation” for dozens of options.
Take a pause and think about the things you’re not going to miss. The holiday season can be a lot of stress, expense, and extra work--and even sometimes seems like more work than it's worth. Maybe taking a year off is something to celebrate for you. Maybe there’s something you’re a little bit grateful to not be doing.
Donate the money you would have spent on hosting a big meal to your favorite charity.
Go for a wild turkey "hunt." In most parts of the country, you can find wild turkeys wandering the woods or even suburban neighborhoods! See if you can spot some. Or, go on a neighborhood walk and see if you can spot some turkey decorations. Note: wild turkeys are protected. Please do not actually hunt them without a license.
Take this pause to try out some new Thanksgiving recipes that might have been too risky for a big family event. Learn what was on the original Thanksgiving menu.
Run a virtual Turkey Trot. This one even has t-shirts and medals! https://www.thevirtualrunchallenge.com/virtual-turkey.../
Learn (maybe for the first time) about the real history of Thanksgiving and the central role of the Wampanoag native people in that harvest. Find out what native people inhabited the place where you live before Europeans arrived. You could even make a recipe from their food tradition to honor the important role that Native Americans played in the origin story of the United States, at tremendous expense to native ways of life. https://www.nytimes.com/.../thanksgiving-myths-fact-check...
Perhaps most importantly: ask yourself what this holiday really means to you. Is it family? Then commit to protecting your family this year. Is it pie? Well then by all means, enjoy some pie! Do the things that mean the most to you in a way that satisfies you. Be sure to ask your kids what the holiday means to them, too--it will probably give you a whole new perspective on Thanksgiving!”