Learning to be still
Lately I have felt like I’m rushing through life from one project to the next, hurried and overwhelmed with no control over what I’m doing or how I’m doing it. My mind feels like it is on constant overdrive with ideas and even when I sleep, my heart is racing so fast, I find it hard to truly rest.
Does this sound like you?
After speaking to a few friends I realise I’m not the only one who feels like they are moving too fast through life. Society tells us that we are only as good as our last project, our last great blog feature or our last award winning idea. So we feel like we can’t stop, we don’t want to let our families down, or our customers so we keep going, keep producing and neglecting ourselves in the process. Its a lot of pressure and I’m ready to release myself from it.
I’ve started taking steps to live a little bit slower and in the process learn how to be still.
I want to experience life, moment by moment instead of always looking forward to the next idea or next item on my to-do list. I want to live more meaningfully, mindful of who I am with at that moment, drinking in my surroundings and experiencing simple pleasures again.
Here’s how I’m learning to do that:
Sit still.
Sitting still without doing anything can be so much harder than it sounds. I’ve started to spend 5-10 minutes early each morning before the kids wake up, just being still. Just me and the sound of birds chirping outside. I don’t think about the day ahead. I simply clear my mind of everything by imagining a white screen in front of me. It helps me start the day peacefully and then when I’m ready, I go and brew my coffee and start the rest of my day.
Take your time.
Allow yourself time to do whatever it is you are doing at that moment. Instead of rushing to eat breakfast, I’m eating more slowly, considering every bite. Before I used to eat rushing round after the kids or answering emails from my phone. Sound familiar? Take the time to sit and fully experience the moment you are in.
Savour your suroundings.
Wherever you live in the world there is beauty around you. I live in a busy city but even there I am able to find hidden or less apparent beauty if I look hard enough. Flowers starting to bloom up between the cracks in the pavement, squirrels in the park, children’s laughter drifting through the air, the sound of rain hitting the window. Breathe in this beauty and savour it.
Turn off distractions.
If you feel rushed, turn off distractions. Close your email inbox for most of the day, switch off social media, turn off your mobile phone and just concetrate on the task at hand. If you are with your kids, be with your kids, fully. It may not be possible everyday but the more you can close your mind of the distractions the calmer you will feel.
Have you ever felt this way? What did you do to try and solve it?
I can completely relate to this post, Isa. Yes on all accounts.
Just recently I had a little “heart-to-heart” with myself. I decided that it is time to take a deep breath, take the pressure off a bit and stop pushing myself to go at a pace I’m just not comfortable with. I’m actually working on a post right now on this very topic. I saw an interview with Oprah and there was one thing she said that gave me an “ah-ha” moment. I’ll share it with you later this week :) (yes, that’s a bit of a tease. lol)
Anyway, thank you, as always, for being such an honest writer. I adore visiting this space throughout the week. Adore!
xoxo
P
I can totally relate! I actually posted about something similar in my April goals post. Funny how we are always on the same page! When I disconnect, I feel more connected. Does that make any sense? Definitely want to enjoy each and every moment and stop letting things fly past me. A work in progress though…
Your post really resonates with me –tonight I’ve been feeling just like this recently. Since the present moment is all I have, I hate the thought of letting it speed by in a rush of craziness! I’ve just started researching the practice of mindfulness as a way to change my relationship with present moments. So far it seems rather like your approach!
You call your post “learning” to be still. You are spot on. It is indeed something we need to “learn” how to do, especially without feeling guilty about it. If I think about too many things at the same time I always feel I am losing out: not enough time spent on the business, not enough time spent with my kids, not enough time for my (wonderful!) husband, not enough time for myself ,… Focusing on one thing, that thing being either my business or my family or even myself, truly making time for all of these things is sometimes hard but so worth it.
This week and next my business will be on the backburner since my children are home for the Easter holiday. I don’t want them to feel neglected so I will focus on spending quality time with them. After all, I started my business so I could be with them more.
Perfect timing Isa! For me… I feel like I’m always in a rush. If someone asks, “What did you do today”, my typical response is, “A lot, but I’m not sure what I got done!” It’s crazy! There’s so much to do that over time I see progress, but on a day to day basis it’s hard for me to see it.
So what I’ve done is I’ve limited myself to 3 things on my to-do list, I’ve decreased my blog posting & the number of clients I’m taking on & I’ve really gotten clear about what I want to do for each part of my business. Just knowing where I’m going, focusing, narrowing my thinking… all that, has really help me to find clarity & not feel so all over the place. Let’s hope I can keep it simple! Good luck to you too!
Oh Isa! Spot on as usual! It actually brought tears to my eyes which makes me realize I might be rushing around more than I like to admit. I keep meaning to get up before the kids now that my baby is sleeping a little more regularly so maybe I will try it tomorrow.
Thanks for being you!!!!
Great post! I’m actually feeling like that and only said to hubby yesterday that I need him to spend quality time with the kids on his own this Easter weekend so I can take some time to SIT STILL. Everything I do, I do for my family and I’m barely away from my kids but I have got to the point now that if I don’t reflect and sit still then I may have a melt down… X
Thank you for your comment Emma. I’m glad you liked the post and I do hope you manage to get some time to sit still for a while. I think it is so important to to try and do this for ourselves but also for our families. We can’t keep working, organising, arranging, playing with kids, doing housework etc without some time for our bodies and minds to rest properly. Just sitting still for a few moments, breathing slowly and deeply and clearing your mind will help. Early mornings work best for me but yesterday my daughter woke up early. Once the rest of the house was awake I snuck away to the bathroom and had my calm, peaceful moment in there! Sounds weird but it worked!