MEDITATION — Monday Motivational Meditation #378 — 2018-11-05

Meditation is the tongue of the soul
and the language of our spirit.

Jeremy Taylor, 1937-

Retired English folk singer and songwriter who has spent much of his life in South Africa, originally as a teacher of English at St. Martin’s School, Rosettenville in southern Johannesburg. Since 1994 has lived in Wales and France.

MEDITATION

Giving myself some time each day for quiet reflection is meditation. It’s a way of being present to the more profound things in my life. And, it is the beginning point of making the whole day about the practice. Quieting my inner being so I can be completely aware of those I meet in the day as it unfolds is a great gift. It’s like seeing all the colors in a plant or seeing the color of someone’s eyes. It is an awakened sense of being in the world.

The practice of meditation is a desire to still the ceaseless thoughts running through my brain. As I quiet those thoughts, I am preparing myself to meet others with a heart that is more open to them and less judgmental. Entering my patient’s room or meeting my colleagues, the time of reflection is a way of preparing myself to allow them to be who they are and not my conception of them.

Getting in touch with my life energy force is a practice that will continue. Life continues to take me in and through different experiences, but the presence I want to have through them all is the same. The openness brought about through meditation will allow me to see the richness present in the great adventure of life.

Eternal Presence, help me to be open to the invitation to quiet contemplation in my daily life. Calming my thoughts through meditation, may I be strengthened to be awakened to the grace the universe provides. Knowing that inner peace is its gift, may I be willing to share it with all who need my help. AMEN.

ACTION: Have you ever meditated or do you meditate? Is it a challenging or easy experience for you? Consider your practice and whether something needs to be changed. Who can you visit with about it? Maybe they are available this week?

Central American eco-guide and professional nature photographer Fred Muller was busy climbing trees and inventorying orchids in the mist-saturated cloud forests of Cobán, central Guatemala as part of a diversity study when I connected with him by phone this week. Fred is one of those incredible people who has abandoned the familiar to follow his passion; exploring and documenting the phenomenal diversity of tropical nature. He lives a full and active life introducing visitors from around the world to regional wildlands and their remarkable flora and fauna, especially the thousands of orchids that inhabit Mesoamerica.

Fred was born in Montpellier in southern France and, since early childhood, has had a fascination with nature and wild places around the world. He was a jewelry maker in France for a few years and that too stemmed from his fascination with all beautiful things. But, tired of sitting at a bench, he finally heeded the call of the wilderness. Traveling to Australia he followed the light with nothing else than a recent gift, his first professional camera given by one of his uncle’s friends, and boundless dedication day after day. Then, life connected him with both researchers and amateurs that needed high-quality photos of tropical wildlife and plants. He has been fulfilling his dream in Guatemala since his arrival there in 2007 after spending five years as staff photographer at the botanical garden in Lyon, France.

Fred’s extraordinary photographs of Central American orchids flowering in nature have appeared in the annual calendars of the American Orchid Society as well as on several well-known webpages that showcase tropical nature, including David Scherberich’s amazing online aroid plant image base and Exotica Esoterica where he is a collaborating author.

You can see samples of Fred’s amazing photographic work here. Or, better yet, feel free to contact us to connect with Fred and schedule a custom-made tour through the fascinating ecosystems and Pre-Columbian archaeological sites of southern Mexico, Guatemala and other countries in Central America.

Nursing Heart is grateful to Fred for permitting the use of his photos in this series called, “Peace.”

Nursing Heart Friends,

Recently, our staff hooked up with Scott Stanton of Qué Pasa magazine and the folks at Choco Museo to give a test drive to a short cooking class that our nurse practitioner groups will have an opportunity to experience. We made chile relleno Guatemalan style. I think we did pretty well; it was delicious.

Some members of our first nurse practitioner group for the season from Florida Atlantic University led by our colleague, Dr. Rhonda Goodman, PhD, will have a chance to participate in the cooking class on Wednesday. Our normal routine is to have clinical days on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, Friday. This leaves Wednesday open to the group to revive and enjoy Antigua and refresh themselves for the second two days of clinicals.

This group will be helping us in two new clinical sites. In San Martín Jilotepeque we will be in San Bartolomé. Thursday and Friday will be our first ever clinic in San Felipe de Jesús. Both of these sites have required many meetings to make sure the communication between all the stakeholders is clear. We like to consider that these weeks are of mutual benefit. Of course the people are grateful for the free clinical consult and medicines they can receive and the group is grateful for the cultural introduction these communities provide to Guatemalan life.

Please follow our activities on Facebook and at our website NursingHeart.org.

Peace,

Research has shown that music and meditation
can assist patients to lower stress
when preparing for surgical procedures.

Mindy Strickland, RN
Pre-Op Nurse, Holmes Regional Medical Center
Melbourne, Florida
Family Nurse Practitioner Student
Florida Atlantic University