Restlessness. Worry. Fear. Driven by these emotions, we end up in a heap. Unable to make decisions or follow through. Restless, irritable, and discontent.
Or, we go through the motions of our day feeling irritable and discontent. Feeling helpless against a sea of chaos, our emotions surge.
What is the antidote to restlessness and agitation?
Just stop.
Be still.
When we are busy planning and homeschooling and cooking and feeding and running errands and reading and hugging and washing and driving…we forget to bring in time for stillness. Sometimes, we just need a prompt, some sort of reminder.
This past week, I have been contemplating this quote:
You do not need to leave your room.
Remain sitting at your table and listen.
Do not even listen, simply wait.
Do not even wait, just become quiet and still and solitary.
The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked.
It has no choice.
It will roll in ecstasy at your feet.
-Franz Kafka
Where were you when you last had a moment of stillness? A moment to yourself?
Today, I was standing in the middle of my living room in bare feet. Focusing on body alignment in a standing yoga pose. Just long enough to remember that today is all I really have. And I smiled.
Relishing a moment of stillness.
Hi Jean! This is wonderful. Thank you for the reminder to savor the moment!
xo
Siobhan
Thanks, Siobhan! A reminder that I need, for sure.
Beautiful Jean…indulge in being still and keep smiling:)
Thanks, Alison. It does feel like an indulgence! But then it also feels like a necessity, and after some stillness and centering, it’s so healing. Gearing up to tackle reading Steiner tomorrow! In between my walk and yoga, of course.
The boys were camping this weekend, so I spent a lot of time walking with the dog and playing with my art journal. I think muscles and thoughts become untangled when we stop focusing on them so intensely.
Love this post.
Miss you!
S
So true! We need to untangle from them and stop focusing so intensely! That is often the very best medicine. I have long felt that so much of parenting is deciding where the line is between my stuff and my kids’s stuff. When it all gets muddled, we feel restless. Love picturing you with time alone out walking the dog and playing with your art journal. Beautiful!
It is hard and scary to remember that now is all we really have. I admit, I frequently function with the “tomorrow is fresh, with no mistake in it…yet” attitude. This is definitely a time of a good shake up and let go around here!
Wonder why it is so hard? Now really is all we have. I too have the “no mistakes in it…yet” mentality. When really I just want to be able to relax no matter what comes my way. Savoring the warm, fall rain today. Hope you have found moments to savor today, too, no matter what else is going on!