Mindfulness poems, or “gathas”, are meant to be memorized, and then recited silently to oneself while performing everyday tasks related to the poem. The idea is to focus your mind on the present, forget regrets from past actions, and stop worrying about things that might happen in the future. We live in the “now”, and inner peace can only be achieved by focusing on the present, letting all regrets and worries float away like balloons in a light breeze.

I hope this collection of short poems can help you achieve inner peace. Pick one or two poems that appeal to you, and whenever you find yourself performing the activity that is the subject of the poem, recite it to yourself while performing that activity. This will help to bring your mind to the present, and over time achieve the inner peace that mindfulness practice generates. It sometimes works for me, and I hope it can do the same for you.

I also include some longer poems that relate to my personal struggle with attaining mindfulness – a struggle I share with many. These longer poems usually deal with humanity’s inability to not enjoy the present because of incessant, intrusive thoughts about past regrets, future dreams, and worry – the very things that lead to our general unhappiness. With these longer poems, I occasionally include an abbreviated version in which I try to capture the essence of the mindfulness message, and may perhaps be remembered (and repeated) when practicing mindfulness.

Finally, I encourage you to write your own mindful poems, as I believe the more personal the poem, the more effective it can be in bringing your mind to the present.

David Calloway