This relaxing loving kindness meditation led by Julie Potiker will help you breathe in kindness for yourself and others. She completes the meditation with her poem, "Finery".

Finery, by Julie Potiker

In the late 1940s, and early 1950s, as a teenager, he was impeccably dressed

From stories of elegant supper clubs

I imagine

Ermine and pearls

Cuff links winking in the candlelight

Grandma Esther made her own patterns out of bed sheets

Cut and tailored like a pro

Skill tucked into her skirts as she journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean

between the Great War, and WWII

No wonder her American born son who looked so fine became known as finery.

For 67 years, he and my mom took care in their wardrobe, in their appearance.

Even after she became ill, her body shrinking

Smaller and smaller sized clothes were brought in, some from my closet

I held back some of his shirts when he passed away

Knowing I would want to wear them

To feel the soft cotton on my chest

To sport them as tunics

Cuffs rolled up on my forearms

I shipped a stack in blues and yellows, ocean and sunset colors

to a textile artist who quilted them into a glorious throw blanket

each square a sweet memory

Yesterday I got so many compliments on his shirt

Each comment a gift

As he came alive in my reply

I slid a pair of my mom’s post earrings through my earlobes

Just in case she’d notice and feel slighted

Just in case

Just in case she feels how light and uncomplicated my longing for my Dad.

I don’t know what her indomitable spirit might see, or feel, or know, or understand.

Find out more about using mindfulness in everyday life through Julie's books, "SNAP: From Calm to Chaos", and "Life Falls Apart, But You Don't have To: Mindful Methods for Staying Calm in the Midst of Chaos". Both are available on Amazon.com.

Follow Julie on YouTube and Facebook at Mindful Methods for Life.com

This podcast is available on iTunes, iHeart, Blubrry and everywhere you listen to podcasts.