Simple
I’ve discovered complexity just doesn’t feel good. Running in circles, worrying about having too much to do, jumping from one task to another, is hard on the body and soul.
I’ve sat with this feeling that comes when I spend too much time on the computer. I feel tight and wound-up. When I feel this way, I long for simplicity, and for doing activities that bring me back to the body, to breath, to life.
Simple moments.
Simple choices.
Simple ways.
Simple.
All I can do is do one thing at a time. Yes, in reality, all any of us can do is one thing at a time, even though we like to believe we are getting more done when we multitask, we aren’t.
Rhythms
I notice when my head starts to swirl with everything I’ve got to do, or everything I must remember, I begin to feel a sense of overwhelm, and a corresponding reaction in my body where my chest tightens and my breath becomes shallow. When I spend too much time using the computer, the same thing happens: the body tightens and I get too little oxygen in my cells.
I know, now, there is no such thing as time. The sun rises and sets. The moon moves from a sliver of translucent white to a fully white orb, and back again. Days come and go. Seasons pass. I grow older. Yet, time is just a construct that we use to get along together in the world.
We’ve made time King, when in reality rhythm is what restores my sanity – the rhythm of my breath, my heartbeat; of sleep and awakeness; of hunger and thirst; of life and death.
The rhythm of the creative process – fallow when fallow, fruitful when fruitful.
Life is about rhythm, not time.
Life itself, is a complex system, and we humans have added a complexity to life, especially here in the west, that is driving us crazy.
The only way I’ve found to be in this complexity and stay somewhat sane is to remember – remember what I love, remember who in my life really matters to me, remember that taking care of this body is a beautiful act, and remember to be aware of what I have to offer to others that might lighten their load. At it’s most basic, this remembrance is of a very basic, yet very real knowing that life itself is sacred.
I am by no means implying I have it all together, but rather, that I’m learning to slow down, to live more simply, to ask for help and to honor the very simple fact that I am alive and this life is precious.
I am learning to live the rhythm of life.
Me, too, Julie. Me, too.
I am working on it and I have to say that living in DC doesn’t help! But it’s beyond our geography, I think.
Off to meditate. Thanks for the reminder…
XOXO
So beautiful, as always, Julie. And so timely. I found myself breathing more deeply and slowly even as I descended through these paragraphs. Thank you for always inviting me to something more – something rich – something beautiful.
Julie,
Yes. I’m only now beginning to relax into the cycle and welcome the fallow as well as the fruiting. And for me, my pattern has been to dive into the fruiting time with an unsustainable zeal, seemingly afraid that the season will be too short or the fruit elusive. Not so, not today anyway. Thank you for the gorgeous invitation. I accept.
‘life is about rhythm’…yes. tidal, seasonal, musical. cyclical, dance rhythms. i adore this. i adore you. thank you, julie.
There is a real beauty to remembering to pause, reflect and remember by virtue of reading someone else’s journey of remembrance. Thank you, Julie. I needed this today.
Wonderful post, thank you!
It’s only been within the last couple of years that I have really taken a loot at “time”. Eckhart Tolle has a wonderful explanation of our construct of time, it’s control over our lives and the reality of it’s absence in the real world. It’s one of those concepts that I grasp in rare fleeting moments. I feel it – experience it – and then it’s gone. At least, at this point, I can say that I do understand the concept, and this makes all the difference in the world. But OH, how we get trapped!! And I agree – too much time on the computer is a prime cause. For me, moving out into Nature is the cure. Looking deeply into her face is the only thing that brings me to timelessness – allows me the capacity to let go of these attachments. It’s interesting – I attach to all of these ideas of what should be in hopes that I “measure up” – better writer, better artist, better friend, better wife and mother, better “sick person”…when in reality, I am absolutely at my best when I let go.
Thank you again – this was so good to read!
Well, you know I do me some fallow time when it’s necessary! There is a rhythm to living, to creating (and I’m trying to erase the distinction in the two), and you know the funny thing is that when I devote time to exercising, for example, and to working on my creative projects, I find that I have more time. It’s magic, pure magic. When I make sure that I/me/Jeanne am/is/are on the list, the numbers on the clock fall away leaving only the circle of space and delicate hands moving in rhythm.