I’ve just returned from a road trip which took me to North Carolina and camping in Ocracoke by the sea. Aaahhh. I feel great!
After leaving chunks of burdensome mental “stuff” behind on I-81 (road meditation) I managed to totally unplug my brain. I have been delighting in the art of simply being; of taking time and of doing fully whatever I was doing, or not doing. Not doing for some of us may be difficult, but not doing leaves room for being.
Squatting by the communal faucet one morning, doing the dishes I realized: I am loving doing these dishes! Therefore, the dishes are not the problem. Being squeezed for time is. I was reminded that not having anything else to do, other than what I was doing right at that moment was the secret … the secret formula to keeping stress at bay, to enjoyment, to satisfaction and to appreciating life. And that is meditation … fully present, alert and calm; in touch with your essential self and doing the dishes.
Easy to do on vacation.
I am grateful for my training in body mind awareness, in meditation, in breathing because that is what I fall back on when I get overwhelmed and out of balance. Balance is not a static state but a dynamic one. Dynamic because we have to re-establish our balance continually. Balance is about our bodies in gravity, our physical, emotional or psychological states as well as mind body harmony. Balance is connected to what we call center or being centered!. Therefore the closer we stay to center the easier it is to maintain our balance. Meditation has taught me to be patient and to be mindful; aware and mindful of what I think and do. Yoga, Qi Gong and other physical practises have taught me focus, breathing and discipline. The arts have taught me pleasure and release. Together they bring me to center. From my center I make better decisions and with more love. Your center is the fulcrum of your balance, the integrating point of all the opposites and their tensions (inner, outer, upper, lower, right, left, feminine, masculine, matter, energy), the eye of the storm so to speak; completely still. When we meditate, it is that stillness we seek to resonate with.
Unfortunately, I can already feel the pressures of my non-vacation life returning. But, I have tools for managing and I guess they must be working because I actually got carded while attempting to buy a case of beer in Nags Head, N.C.! Drinking age in the U.S. is 21. Go figure.
Going on vacation helps to create a break in the routine, providing rest, release and perspective. Being mindful helps to interrupt bad habits and re-establish balance. Meditation, whether sitting or active, focuses and quiets the mind, and serves as a daily mini-vacation.
I seem to have left most of my brain in the camp ground. So I don’t have much else to say other than I wish you peaceful summer days full of happiness and fun.
Watch this impressive Balancing Act performance on YouTube. http://youtu.be/jJrzIdDUfT4
Lisa
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