Tuesday, January 25, 2011

I'm Sure You've All Been Wondering...

I told you last week that I would try and sit for five minutes each day, just being silent and observing life. Here's my report back:

Day 1: Fell asleep.
Day 2: Forgot.
Day 3: Noticed the many different birds outside my window and remembered that South Africa has more bird species than all the countries of North America combined.
Day 4: Taking deep breaths is actually nice.
Day 5: Forgot again.
Day 6: Ran around like a maniac all day.
Day 7: Horrid day. Cried. Remembered to sit and be still for five minutes. Noticed that a red bishop who had claimed our yard (and then left when our tree fell down) was back. Felt better.

As you can see, I'm not so good at sitting still and just being. 3 days out of 7 is not a great track record. I did notice, however, that on the days I actually managed to "do nothing" for five minutes I felt so much better. I relaxed. I noticed nature. I got a tiny dose of perspective. Funny how all that could happen in a mere five minutes, but it did.

I'm going to keep trying. It seems so silly (and embarrassing) that I find this so difficult, but I do.

2 comments:

wakeupcowboys said...

I'm following your lead and trying to sit for 5 min., observing. I did it 2 days this week. There is a sense of wonder when I do it. Think I'll go right now. We're "socked in" by fog at the moment and I can hear the silence.

not2brightGRAM said...

Baby steps! I think you did great for your first week. I need to try it!

This makes me think of an old, rather cheesy poem. But, so true!

The Robin and the Sparrow

Said the robin to the sparrow,
“I should really like to know,
Why these anxious human beings
Rush about and worry so.”

Said the sparrow to the robin,
“Friend I think that it must be,
That they have no Heavenly Father,
Such as cares for you and me.”