If you’ve ever participated in one of my mindfulness programs, you know that “the pause” is a powerful thing. Whether it’s the pause between breaths during meditation or the pause between stimulus and response, our ability to embrace that space and put it to use for our personal growth is what mindfulness practice is all about.
It’s been about a week since #MarthasMayPhotoChallenge and my most recent 30-Day Mindfulness Meditation Challenge wrapped up, both of which require daily engagement on my part, even on weekends. On June 1, my first “free” day, I flew with my husband to Chicago for a wedding. I must have really needed a pause, since I forgot my phone at home.
Even though I try to be mindful with my phone use, there’s no question that not having it on our 3-day trip led to deeper observation of my experience, more conversation with my husband, and more enjoyment of the present moment. With my phone-free getaway in the rearview mirror, I’m slowly getting back into the swing of things.
So today I’ll share a second installment of what my May photo challenge produced in case you weren’t following along on Facebook or Instagram in my Photo Challenge Highlights sections. (Click here for the first batch — Days 1-9 — that I shared here on the blog a few weeks ago.)
Days 10-20 of My 2019 May Photo Challenge
Day 13/31 #MarthasMayPhotoChallenge. Treasures are always there for the finding, even in the rain.
I’ll be adding some of these images to my collection at damselwingsphotography.com. Let me know your favorites to help with my decision-making!
Voter Empowerment Project: My Personal Challenge for June
Interestingly, what’s helped me reorient myself and reboot my intention-setting since returning from our trip was deciding to take part in a challenge organized by the Americans of Conscience Checklist (AoCC), the newsletter run by Jen Hofman.
The challenge is to spend one hour per week for the next three weeks to ensure that every citizen can vote and each vote verified in 2010. What I love about this challenge are the super clear instructions about steps to take (all of which you can do from the comfort of your own home with the time split up if you need to) AND you get to check off boxes to record and submit your progress! FUN!
This first week did take me a little longer than an hour to complete all the tasks, but that’s because I had to collect the phone numbers for my federal and state legislators and the elections office. Links to access that information are contained right inside the challenge instructions. EASY!
A bonus task is to share the link to the challenge, which I’m taking care of right now! Regardless of your political affiliation, I think we can all agree that everyone in our country deserves the right to vote. I have already learned a lot about the structural issues that make it more difficult for less advantaged people to vote. The little bit of time I spent this week on the AoCC challenge has deepened my understanding of how our electoral process works. I learned that I didn’t even recognize the names of my state representatives (doh!), but now have received emails back from them about my inquiries. It feels great to TAKE ACTION (again, from the comfort of my own home).
So, fulfilling that bonus challenge, here’s the link to the Americans of Conscience Voter Empowerment Project in case you’re interested in checking it out.
Let me know 1) your favorite #MarthasMayPhotoChallenge images and 2) are you inspired to join the AoCC Voter Empowerment Project’s June Challenge?
Stay tuned for the third and final batch of the photo challenge images coming up soon! Think of it as practice in giving your full attention to one small bite at a time at a time — a skill applicable to mindful eating, clutter clearing, and many other areas of life.
