Mindful Monday: The Gift of a Baby's Presence

This summer, I had the honour of holding my friend Deirdre's newborn grandson in my arms. His name is Irie, which means joy and happiness. He was so beautiful, so tender, so precious. His tiny toes and fingers, his soft skin, his little squirming body making gentle noises—all of it touched something deep within me.

As I held him, I remember feeling so relaxed and completely in the now. 

When I returned from a recent retreat, this memory came back to me, and I realized how beautifully it reflected what we had explored together as a group - Presence.

Babies embody presence. They are pure essence, untouched by time or conditioning. Their soul is open, fluid, free.

To be in their presence is to be reminded of our own innocence, our own true nature. Looking into a baby’s eyes is like looking into a mirror of the soul—a reflection of the preciousness we so often forget we carry within.

In our retreat, my teacher said to our group: You are precious.

The words landed deeply in me. I received them openly, almost surprised by how much I loved to hear them. I wouldn’t normally describe myself as “precious.” And yet, when we think of a baby, that’s the first word that comes to mind. Precious—innocent, fluid, free, the beginning of everything.

As adults, most of us have forgotten how precious we are.

Life happens. Conditioning creates layers—walls through which we begin to see ourselves and the world. That radiant light of the soul becomes hidden. We forget. 

But preciousness doesn’t disappear. It is who we are. Always.

It simply waits beneath the layers, beneath our striving and stories, until we remember.

And remembering happens here. In the now.

Just as we would hold space for a newborn, we can practice holding myself and our Inner Child with compassion. Whatever arises—peace, joy, sadness, anger, fear, or tiredness—we can notice it. I can breathe with it. We can support ourselves gently.

It isn’t about how we should feel. It’s about being with how we do feel.

In that willingness, the blocks soften. The walls begin to dissolve. Space opens, and our true essence shines again.

Barriers we have built around our hearts can soften and dissolve as we safely rest in the truth of our existence. This shifts how we see and experience ourselves, as well as how we see others, through this clear lens. 

This is the practice. There is no right or wrong here. It is a path of befriending ourselves, moment by moment, like meeting a dear friend.

Take a breath now. Notice how it feels in your body to simply be here.

Our home is here, in the now. Our preciousness is here, in the now.

This path of presence isn’t always easy. But grace is found in our willingness to walk it.

Grace is what allows us to live in the world but not be consumed by it. Grace is what reveals the preciousness of our soul.

When we relax into being, we are reminded:
We are precious.
We are presence.
We are love.

With love,

 Diane