This past Spring, I wrote about walking with ease. Unbeknownst to me, that post turned out to be a prescient message to myself. In April, I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). RA is an autoimmune disease fueled by inflammation. It can affect your joints, heart, lungs, fascia, blood vessels, vocal cords, and it can create fatigue like nobody’s business. I felt relief in having answers to my body’s aching questions; however, new fears surfaced, creating a new bout of uncertainty. This time, it didn’t look like war in another country, or my mother’s death. This time, uncertainty came cloaked as a threat to my health and well-being.

This past fall, I embarked on a journey with my mindfulness center to create a space for people in the community to talk about death. We borrowed some concepts from the traditional death cafe format and supplemented it with mindful practices.

At the end of 2023, I basked in the glory of printing my mindfulness certificate after completing my last module in The Power of Awareness training. My assignment was a half-day mindfulness session, which included a walking meditation. I eyed a path from my kitchen to my front door for the 30-step, 10 minute assignment.