Recently there have been severe thunderstorms and heavy rains that caused the power to go out for short and long hours of time. I was given an opportunity to experience an unusual amount of time to just be quiet: let go and just be.
At first, it was difficult. I tried to read but it was too dark. There was no hum of equipment. The silence was only interrupted by rain and thunder. After an hour, I found myself being able to “see” from a quiet place that my external self was struggling to let go and just be in the moment.
Our lives are full of lists, of rushing, about, of filling every moment with something. So what happens when the power goes out, and we can’t fill out time and space with doing? We say we want peace of mind, relief from stress, relaxation but when given those things, we feel anxious and fidgety. We have lost the ability to just be.
Can you let go and just be?
How addicted are we to our phones and other media devices? Can we take a step back internally, and distance ourselves for a moment and ask – is this really living? Are we fully present to those around us? Or even to ourselves? It’s a crazy addiction to respond to every beep and every interruption. We are constantly in response mode or consumer of information mode. Is this truly living?
I have a few coaching clients that even during a session can hardly keep themselves from checking their phones. Even as they are working to transform something about their lives – they cannot resist. But when would that transformation happen in relation to the constant interruptions to which they are compelled to respond?
So, today, just try and take a few moments to reach for clarity, to stop self-sabotaging your life and goals, to create instead of responding, to breathe instead of doing, and just be. You might discover a new you and a new peace of mind.
If you want, you can read more about choosing mindfulness versus lists here. Another wonderful in-depth resource is The Art of Mindfulness: why mindfulness matters.
Or if you want to let go and just be, try listening to some thunder and rain by clicking here.
