Saturday, August 16
- Scripture: Psalm 118:24 – “The Lord has done it this very day; let us rejoice today and be glad.”
- Reflection: Every day is a gift to be celebrated. Focus on the present moment. Be mindful. This is a spiritual practice anyone can cultivate.
One writer explained: “What is mindfulness? Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.
While mindfulness is something we all naturally possess, it’s more readily available to us when we practice on a daily basis.
Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful. And there’s growing research showing that when you train your brain to be mindful, you’re actually remodeling the physical structure of your brain.
The goal of mindfulness is to wake up to the inner workings of our mental, emotional, and physical processes…
How do I practice mindfulness and meditation? Mindfulness is available to us in every moment, whether through meditations and body scans, or mindful moment practices like taking time to pause and breathe when the phone rings instead of rushing to answer it.” (full article) - Spiritual Practice Prompt: Slow down today. Focus on something that makes you grateful.
Song:
- “Happy Together” by The Turtles: https://youtu.be/9ZEURntrQOg?si=R3tfVc8zIIMD_1Ar
People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don’t even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle. ― Thich Nhat Hanh
August 16 Daily Devotional