Embracing the Quiet

I have a Cat Steven’s record on the record player and I am tired from a full life. Yesterday we visited Steve’s Neurologist and luckily did not receive any devastating news. We are facing some lifestyle changes that have been in the works for a while and the good news is that we are both committed to making these changes. I am so glad that God is looking out for us and that we are both relatively healthy, even though we both still experience the aches and pains of getting older.

But I am committed to improving on myself. I am still a smoker and that will come with time but for right now I am focusing on what I can handle. I have started a new diet which I hope is encouraging my body to take on some change, I have quit drinking, and I am dedicated to therapy, massage, the chiropractor, some restorative Pilates exercises, and walking and yoga and bike riding when I can. Another way that I am monitoring my health is to manage what intellectual, emotional, and physical energy I spend every day. It is important for me to rest and if I have a particularly active day I can count on that I will need some rest the following day. My quest is about balance and I am achieving this through self-compassion and self-awareness.

Sometimes in life it feels like we are constantly moving up-hill or shoveling the shit against the tide so to speak, and in these moments where it feels we are surrounded by many things to do it is most important to stop and rest. Acceptance is key, as is time in stillness and meditation. I am learning this more than ever in my life right now and it is not always easy. But it is in this stillness that rest and happiness bubble up in the consciousness. So as I finish typing these words on the page, I am committing myself to 15 minutes of meditation and an evening of relaxation. I hope that I can reach a place where in the calmness, pure self-love manifests itself.