#101: Mind the Gaps

I am always left feeling more present, grounded, and at peace after reading Jaime's poetry. And with the holidays coming up, I hope to fill the gaps and space between my family and loved ones, in a physical and emotional sense :)  What a wonderfully refreshing read, especially at this time of year! Thank you Jaime. 

Amanda 

Jaime Posa    posa.jaime@gmail.com

Mind the Gaps

Be mindful of filling gaps 

Of seemingly nothingness 

With mindless distractions -

A phone or an app,

The TV or even endless cleaning,

Or some thing you do just to do it.

Because you just might miss 

A blue jay by the window 

The laughter of a little one…

And all the love that’s built 

In tiny moments of togetherness;

Accumulate crumbs of connection

In the nooks & crannies

Hidden between errands and chores 

and activities.

Make it your business

To put things aside or away

So that your breaks from your busy-ness

Become your being with each other. 

To live and to create a home for our selves

And for our loved ones and littles ones 

Sometimes happens 

in the silence of nothingness 

In the in-between-ness 

Of all the doing.

If you put down the gap-fillers

And use that pause to stop and look around

You just might find 

everything.

So, mind the gaps -

The corners of the kitchen 

Where you collide while cooking, 

And consider kissing.

Mind the spaces 

In between breakfast and laundry

Where you might bump into one another

Eyes meeting  

And breathe a moment between you. 

These little breaks we get

Are where we get to begin again

Over and over

And over forever. 

Jaime's first-person bio:

I teach and I write and I create things and I see if I can be a better listener more consistently every day. I enjoy using food, nature and yoga as tools for experiencing a deeper sense of joy, connection and freedom (within myself and with other beings). I began regularly referring to myself as a Returned Peace Corps Volunteer in 2012, after serving more than 2 years in El Salvador, and I aways refer to that because that experience is an inflection point for when I began more intentionally living. I actually sometimes say that Peace Corps "saved my life" and I kinda sorta mean that. My biggest joy in my work is when a child's face lights up.