pause and reflect

sometimes we just need to stop

pause

and reflect

 

aren't they gorgeous. Toby has grown up around his Nannie's (not me) ponies, and they love him

Even though we have had so much pausing due to the lockdown. I'm meaning a different sort of pause, more like a stillness, a gentle moment in time.

Watching my great grandson Toby, who is four, playing at a farm for children with really cute animals, every now and then he would just go within and be quietly engrossed with whatever his attention was fixed on. In a really relaxed way. 

I realised that sometimes we forget to do this. I most certainly do. Instead, I get locked into doing something with an intensity, without that inner stillness, that inner grace.

Even when I go for a walk, for some crazy reason I'm intense about it. I'm now walking slower, but definitely not more mindfully (because I am so not into this - I have seen people have real problems with mindfulness) Sometimes I use the breathing pattern in the link to slow my whole self down, then just get into enjoying my wee promenade. And then it becomes a pause in the busy-ness of life.

I like to meditate first thing. Usually not for long, but the important thing to me is that I actually do it. And just before hopping into bed of a night. For sure, these are my definite pauses, moments in time, of inner peace. But I'll be honest, after a troubling day, the evening meditation isn't quite so easy. Sometimes it's just a joke, with my head and heart swirling around. 

With my very first yoga class, when I was quite young, at the end we were sitting, and were told to close our eyes. Bingo! Instant meditation. I spent decades doing fancy meditation, and yes, a couple of times a week, I still do. I love the sublime feelings and energy from these.

But it's our daily habits which matter, I believe. So my little meditations are what matter to me, in the long run.

I've had a very stressful week, and although I do have excellent tools for dealing with stress, I'm feeling that we need to have habits which cause us to pause, have space to reflect, relax, enjoy. It's what I'm looking at now. To make life flow with more ease.

Any hints, please?

You might like to look at some of my own stand-bys:

little habits to reduce stress  

and the best ever morning meditation

link to my yoga blog - this week there's a lovely little flow