I left London on a 10 week go native trip that had at its essence Change. I took the opportunity to retreat away from all the distractions of modern life, the “DOING” all the time. The “WORRY” and fret of everything.
Life is often overwhelming; finances, relationships, career, goals personal and professional, family duty, commitments and this constantly needing and wanting to be “happy” all the time.
It can be such a muddle, don’t you think?
So, what did I learn? Did I find the answers? Yes, some . I have had the time to observe and reflect on common behaviour patterns of not only me personally, but that also cause conflict and confusion for many people.
ITS STARTS WITH SLOWING DOWN;
Physically, Stop rushing around thinking if you’re not moving fast, you won’t get everything done. What’s all this “everything”?
Mentally, constantly jumping from one thing to the next without the ability to concentrate, to complete a thought before another jumps in.
Talking too fast. To yourself as well as to others. Jumping into conversations, completing sentences to just get to a conclusion quickly without really listening.
Modern Life, with its instant updates, messages and vibrating notifications has encouraged us to behave in this same way, everything instantly and NOW.
I learned that life doesn’t need to be like this. I don’t need to be juggling 5 balls in the air at one time. That by slowing down, I move, breathe and think with more certainty.
This is no small thing for a woman who always has to be in the mix!! A big long list to power through!!
Not anymore, the list exists, I work steadily through it, I listen to myself more. I like myself more because I engage with my list with less anxiety. I’ve removed the procrastination and the doubt about my abilities, and this has helped me be more settled.
Having the time on this trip has had a profound affect on my way of being. Now that I have been back in London for 3 weeks, I realise what the problem was before. The problem was that in our culture here we are encouraged to be BUSY all the time, as if BUSY is a good thing.
We believe that there is no time, that apps and technology can do all the work for us so that we can relax and enjoy life. But look around, I don’t see many people relaxing and enjoying themselves, they are all too busy. I see fatigue, depression, sickness not wellness, confinement not freedom. I see rules, prisons, boredom and disillusion. And a desperate need to CHANGE.
Retreats have always existed, offering a medicine for self enquiry and reflection without distraction. Holly men given up possessions to follow God, Seekers of truth travel to far to caves and mountain tops away from distraction. Monasteries, ashrams, places of discipline and study, spaces to strip away the comfort and get us back to self .
Inevitably we always come back, as I have done, and when we do, we are changed, shifted. Now to implement the learnings and to share them with our friends and families, to maintain the discipline of practice, because it is through discipline we connect the body to the spirit.
One big thing is… I have been away, but everyone else has just been doing the same thing as usual, nothing has changed, it’s the same stuff. Only my perspective and how I see the situation, that’s what has changed.
Books I loved : Be Here Now (book) – Wikipedia
