Being Still: It’s Pretty Freakin’ Hard
Utterly exhausted at the end of May, I decided to conduct a secret little experiment in the month of June to simplify. You can read more about it by clicking the link to this guest post.
The thought behind it was to begin slowing my life down by letting this one little word “simplify” roll around in my heart and mind all month. The goal was to end the month with a little less stress, a little less rush, and a little more peace by letting that one word influence the decisions I made all month. It actually worked so well, that I chose a new word for July. (Well, it’s really two words – there aren’t a lot of rules here.) My word for July was:
Be still.
Seems simple enough, right? Uh, no. Hell, no! Being still is pretty freakin’ hard. |Click to Tweet| When we find ourselves rushing out the door in the morning, kids in tow, juggling a thousand things all day, and rushing back that evening to fix dinner, take baths, and get to bed... When we are working til 11pm and then beginning again at 5am... When we are facebooking, googling, tweeting, blogging, texting, emailing, and instagramming…IT IS HARD to just:
Be still.
I’ll be honest with you, it was an epic fail for me. In a thirty-one day period, I think I was able to get my body and mind perfectly still about four times. And those days after lounging in my backyard swing, reading, writing, and journaling, with little or no success in quieting my mind, I had to literally lay my head on my desk like a child. It was the only way I could successfully shut out the noise, the sights, and the thoughts that competed for my attention.
Being still
was hands down the most difficult thing I tried to do all month. I decided at the end of July, that either I needed a complete do-over, or I needed to break it down into something more tangible.
Being still
is monumentally more difficult than it sounds. Ironically though, I also learned in those few precious moments it is exceedingly more rewarding than I could have ever imagined. It brought me peace, clarity, and focus. The stillness energized my creativity. It deepened my spirituality. Overall, it made me feel grounded and centered. I cannot wait until I have time, I must make time to
Be still.
Noting the dark circles under my eyes that concealer simply mocks these days, I concluded, “a girl’s gotta sleep.” In order to get more rest though, I must learn to
Be still.
So, my one word for the month of August is “sleep.” It's a good place to begin.
In our culture we are so quick to cheat our sleep, our rest and our leisure time. Something is wrong with that practice. In the end cheating our rest, our meditation, our quiet spirituality ultimately cheats our effectiveness in every other area of our lives. We become exhausted, grouchy, frustrated, and burned out. Something else has got to give.
I find value and richness in those quiet moments. Stillness adds depth and breadth to my life. It multiplies my gratitude and my peace. So until I get it right, I am going to keep practicing:
Being still.