After the Rains, Birds Sing

January theme of silver lining is rich with practice material. Firstly, our Tahoe 2018 Winter has been wet and dripping as our pictures from Winter Retreat last weekend attests....

At the end of retreat, a beloved asked, "How can we take the theme of silver lining forward into our days?"

In everything we shared, it seems the commonality was: practice putting others first, step outside our own experiences and focus on the big picture, i.e. the silver lining.

How do we direct our minds to the big picture?

• practice gratitude
• take a pause, literally a breath 

Both of these suggestions are concrete mindful habits to practice and can actually be done in tandem. I notice a storm...breathe...practice gratitude. To do so may offer us a fuller experience and more holistic picture. 

I went on a rainy run the other morning and I noticed as it was still clearing, the chickadees came out, tweeting and collecting seed. In their song I felt the rejoicing, "we're alive, we survived the storm!" Grace filled tweety birds transformed the stormy moment to something better, a celebration of being alive!

Please consider joining us in the practice of noticing the silver linings in the storms this month of January. Lake Tahoe Mindfulness Community would love to celebrate your experiences.