“I’m Here” explores what it means to arrive fully in the present after years of living at high tempo. In this episode of Mindful at Sea Level, host Bob A — military veteran and mindfulness educator — reflects on the shift from restless mental motion to disciplined presence.

Drawing from his poem “I’m Here,” written days after a life-threatening illness and surgery, Bob A traces the moment he found a quiet refuge inside a mind once crowded with noise. He describes clarity as a subtle tapping that had always been there, waiting to be noticed. Through morning sounds, fresh air, and the simple rhythm of a new day, he reconnects with the sensory world and the steady truth beneath it.

The episode centers on one radical realization: what’s different now is that he’s truly here — not rehearsing the future, not revisiting the past, but standing in the living moment with intention and integrity.

Poem: I’m Here by Bob A, Mindful at sea level podcast

Music: Guided by the Northern Light, Suno AI

Artwork: Mindfulnauts and a campfire on a cold beach, Gemini AI

I’m Here A free verse poem By Bob A

Being alone with my thoughts, finding safe haven from the storm, in a mind once cluttered with unimportant things.

Clarity rises, a quiet tapping at the soul, reminding me it has always been here, waiting for a single, living moment.

Morning arrives. Fresh air on my skin. Birds chirping over the hum of tires, rolling along the nearby highway.

I take the time to soak it in, to take all of it in, moment by moment.

Listening to music, hearing each word, feeling each note until I become the dancer.

What’s different this time, I’m here.

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Mindful at Sea Level is a short‑form mindfulness podcast offering poetry, reflections, and nature‑rooted teachings. Hosted by Bob A — mindfulness educator, military veteran, and self‑described Mindfulnaut — each episode is a brief return to steady awareness at “sea level.”

A Mindfulnaut is a person who explores their inner world with the same steadiness and curiosity a mariner brings to open water. They navigate thoughts, emotions, and sensations like shifting tides — not to control them, but to understand their movement and return to center.

Mindfulnaut

Origin: From Old English myndful (“of good memory”), later adopted to translate the Buddhist Pali term sati (“awareness” or “present‑moment attention”), combined with Greek nautēs (“sailor”).

Meaning: A sailor of mindfulness — one who navigates the inner world with steadiness and curiosity.

Usage: A “mindful sailor of the inner world” exploring thoughts, emotions, and sensations like shifting tides, returning again and again to center.

Mindful at Sea Level Podcast is dedicated to the "Jack Russell Nation." We miss you dearly our friend and companion, Ike.

“There’s a field, I’ll meet you there…” -Rumi

A Study of Blue: A Return to Presence

This episode explores A Study of Blue, a free‑verse poem that anchors Season 2. The poem charts a demanding inner journey: following a northern light through cold rain, frozen earth, and blurred horizons. Each challenge becomes a catalyst, sparking a hidden flame that guides the narrator forward.

At its heart, the poem is about choosing presence in a world that never slows down. It’s about learning to breathe again after years of high‑tempo living, recognizing warmth as a sign of arrival, and standing still long enough to see the beauty that movement often hides.

Professionally and personally, A Study of Blue signals a shift — a letting go of old patterns and a willingness to step into the unknown. It’s the moment where discipline meets compassion, and where life becomes a study worth returning to each day.

Poem: A Study of Blue by Bob A, Mindful at sea level podcast

Music: Angelic Sea of Stillness by Bob A, Mindful at sea level podcast (Suno)

Mindful at sea level podcast is dedicated to Jack Russell Nation… Ike, we miss you deeply!

A Study of Blue

A free verse poem

That northern light,

a study of blue,

enthralls my sight

each day anew.

Cold winter rain

pierces my skin,

yet in its sting

a hidden flame

rekindles itself within.

Dig deep — though frozen earth impedes

your search,

and fog‑bound mountains

blur your view.

Through half‑closed eyes,

with colors blurred,

a path of light

reveals itself to you.

Settle in.

Breathe.

Feel the warmth arriving,

folding around you

like a lover

who will never say goodbye.

The world hums on —

busy bees

seeking their queen.

Life never pauses.

Still you stand,

waiting,

marveling

at the scene.

By day’s end,

I long to be free,

immersed in life

as fully as it can be —

releasing the angst of the past,

yearning toward the unknown,

a study that began

the day I was born.

The day begins.

The day ends.

A study of blue.