a Mindfulness Practice
It is so very easy to get lost in the responsibility and heaviness of life. Bombarded with a constant line of things to do, people to be with, burdens to hold. There is a time and place for getting things done, being productive and pushing forward. This energy is extroverted, optimizing and forceful. We live in this energy daily, in a world that prioritizes making money, buying things, progressing and “getting it”. Now there is nothing wrong with this energy when it is balanced. We need this energy and use it to motivate our goals, finish up projects, clean the house and socialize with others. Yet more and more the imbalance of this energy is eating up the quiet, the space to just be.
I see it in the prevalence of anti-anxiety and depression medication, the increasing levels of overdoses from street drugs, the anger and hatred dividing us from each other and the over saturation of materialism. This isn’t a criticism of the things we do to cope, the things we do almost unconsciously to move through the pain. I have a weakness for wellness products, and I like to shop, I enjoy cannabis after a tiring day, I get annoyed at people in the store parking lot. It’s human. This is an expression from my self to your self, a call out to the world, that we are not alone in the overwhelm of the disjointed lifestyles we lead. In fact, if there is one thing that connects us all, one thing right now that we have in common with each other, regardless of our beliefs, it is the disconnection from our true selves, our souls, our purpose, or the pursuit of changing that as we wake up to the very real pain of it.
Recently, I have been getting many messages about slowing down. Relayed from guides, whispered from the depths of my heart and in the aching longing in my body. An aching to live more from a place of solid peace and ease. It is the season now, of coming home, slowing down, not rushing and letting in the calm quiet of winter. Letting things go that can’t be finished right now. Laying down the things that are doing nothing but stress us and frustrate us. What would happen if you left it for later, left it for spring? This isn’t about procrastination, but about releasing what doesn’t serve us, so that we can breathe into the possibilities of another way. What would happen if you put away the phone, turned off the television and laid down in your bed, in the middle of the day? Took a deep breath and just felt everything for a moment, felt it really sink in, without distractions. What messages would come up about where you are pushing too hard, what thoughts jump up, about what you are dreading?
I give myself permission to release it (the “it” being the heaviness). I invite in more ease and laughter, joy and rest. I make the space for myself to just be me. The space to do something just because it feels good, not because it has an end game or goal, or because it furthers my output in some way.
The deep breath in expands the well of resources within.