Find compassion for yourself and those around you through this guided meditation led by Julie Potiker. She completes the meditation with the poem, "The Return of Hearts and Minds", by James Crews.

The Return of Hearts and Minds, by James Crews

I wake before dawn this morning

to live inside the quiet, to feast

on the dark bread of the possible.

The house breathes on its own, though

no footsteps stamp the floor above,

no doors slam shut, and nothing

stirs outside except for the masked

raccoon, hungry eyes glowing green.

I know who I am in these small hours,

and watch for signs that daylight is

finally coming, spreading like a blue

ink that brightens the sky instead of

darkening it. This early, I imagine

the hearts and minds of everyone

who gave them up the day before,

tossed out as easy as paper crumpled

on the floor, suddenly returned to them,

compassion flowing into each of us

like an IV drip, like fresh light meeting

our eyes with the chance to begin again.

—James Crews

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

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