Relax into this meditation -- as you breathe in compassion. Julie Potiker completes the meditation with her poem, "Joy has Four Legs and Doesn't Ask for Permission".

Joy has Four Legs and Doesn’t Ask for Permission, by Julie Potiker

No one told them about wars

or the price of eggs.

Mutts and pure breeds of every flavor

run without hesitation,

as if the world has always been this open,

this forgiving.

Wellington leaps and sprints with every dog chasing a ball

Madeline rolls her old bones in the wet sand.

One black lab charges the waves with a Frisbee in his mouth,

another digs fiercely – sand flying above his head -

both entirely certain of their purpose.

Just now. Just wind. Just sand and salt

and the miracle of tails wagging.

Nothing in them resists the day.

The heaviness in my chest loosens,

This is how healing looks—

wild, sandy, and grinning.

-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.