When you need a break from the noise
I was recently introduced to the Ojibway poet Richard Wagamese, and was reading his book of meditations entitled Embers, when I came across this one:
I am constantly surrounded by noise: TV, texts, the internet, music, meaningless small talk, my thinking. All of it blocks my consciousness, my ability to hear the ME that exists beneath the cacophony. I am my consciousness, my awareness of my circumstance, my presence in every moment. So I cultivate silence every morning. I sit in it, bask in it, wrap it around myself and hear and feel me. Then, wherever the day takes me, the people I meet are the beneficiaries of my having taken that time - they get the real me, not someone shaped and altered by the noise around me. Silence is the stuff of life.
Whoa.
(That’s what I said out loud after I read it)
And then I asked my friends who dwell with me on the noisy pages of Facebook and Instagram what they would do with the silence if they had it? Well, okay, not *silence* exactly, but 10-15 minutes free time sans noise.
I turned their answers into a printable you can hang in case it’s helpful. Maybe close your eyes and point, and see where you land and what you might try for the next ten minutes or so. Hang it somewhere you can scan anytime you have a second, BEFORE you reach for your phone!
Click here for the printable
Speaking of reaching for the phone, I’m toying with the idea of an e-course specifically targeting our obsession with the noise (i.e. checking social media ALL the time). Basically, a social media detox with accountability partners, lovely peaceful things to do instead of doomscrolling, and lots of reflection on the WHYs behind our swipes. If you’d be interested hearing more when it’s ready, click HERE and I’ll make sure you’re the first to hear about it! Spots will be limited because I'd like to keep it intimate. (date TBD because, well, virtual schooling and pandemic life, but I’m including it here to keep me accountable and ON it!)
I’m off to take a power nap for ten, water my plants, and then a little Zendoodling.
What will you do with the next ten minutes?
(and because we’re two weeks away, I have to add just a little noise below):
