Mindfully Getting Away

If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath. (Amit Ray, from Om Chanting and Meditation)

Living in the moment can be so hard when one is feeling anxious and overwhelmed.  I went on vacation - more on that later - and I was hoping that I would return feeling back to myself, but when I returned to work, it was busy as usual and so I am still struggling with feeling overwhelmed.  I do not like being as busy as I am and it is easy to spin out when thinking about everything I have to do.  But that is why practicing mindfulness is so important!  Being in the moment, taking things one at a time, just doing the next right thing, really does help ease my anxiety.  

 Sometimes I need to get away.  When I'm feeling overwhelmed, sometimes I need to escape, even if just for a few minutes.  Right now, I usually put Pandora on some relaxing classical music and read for about fifteen minutes.  It takes me away from where I currently am and puts me in another world. I made a graphic for an activity I do on mindfulness at the center on the second Wednesday of the month.

I took peers to a nearby park with a creek and we listened to the water bubbling as it played with the rocks.  We looked up at the clouds.  We talked about the sounds and sensations that soothe us, like rain on a tin roof or the birds overhead.  I felt back to myself in that moment.  Silence, introspection, relaxation, meditation, mindfulness are so important and so undervalued in this world.  I need to set  aside more intentional quiet time for myself every day, for I have come to believe that the way I will get back to myself is to listen deeply to myself in quiet.

(Glenn Creek Nature Preserve)