Ease your body into this early morning loving kindness meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes this guided meditation with her poem, "Soft Morning".

Soft Morning, by Julie Potiker

The birds sound muted

A beetle

No bigger than a black nickel

Makes its way on faded ceramic tiles

to cream and red brick pavers

He is headed somewhere fast

Swift for his kind

No wings

Just short legs

Impossibly thin pencil marks

scurrying him along

The longer I am still

my ears collect bird songs

I tuck each jingle into my heart with a smile

and note of thanks

It seems Morning Dove and Spotted Towhee

can always be counted on

Also, Bewick’s Wren

That should be enough, I think

Then joy arises as Lesser Goldfinch, not less to me,

and Northern Mockingbird gift their tunes to the score

Surveying the scene from high in the sky

Red-tailed Hawk

Releases his plaintive cry

As I witness ever earth bound

Tucked in my chair

Under the eaves

Snug as a bug

Softly breathing.

-"Soft Morning", by Julie Potiker

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.