The Simplicity Of Life

Another favorite book of mine is "You Are The Answer" by Michael Tamura.

In this particular quote that I'm sharing, he talks about how we sometimes make life too difficult and mostly because we have learned to ignore the simple things and the simplistic part of life.  It is a survival mechanism, but as we wake up, so do we begin to see the simple things.

I often use the example for people that most will walk outside and never hear the birds, or see the simplest things around them.  When this happens, we miss out on so much in life.  As you begin to wake up and become more conscious, these things become a symphony for your life that you will rarely miss.

Anyway, here's the quote that I wanted to share today.

Most of us have learned to disregard the pure simplicity of life in our struggles to survive in an increasingly complex world.  It's funny that we so readily sacrifice the simple for the complicated, with the excuse that we don't have the time for it.  Yet its the simple that doesn't take much time. (Page 215, You Are The Answer by Michael Tamura).

Simple Moments In Life According To A Cat

Simple Moments In Life
According To A Cat

I love it when an animal teaches us about life by just being themselves.  I ran across this video the other day and just found it to be cute.  It was a great way to help remind us that simple things in life mean so much.  If you're a cat lover, you know just how true this video is.

There is so much that animals can teach us and all we have to do is spend a moment with them.  Some days we complicate our lives by making it more than it needs to be.  If we just step back for a moment and find the little things in life, we will most likely be amazed at how much joy we can find in our own day.

I hope you enjoy this video.  There is an orange cat on here that is just like one we have.  He is so full of love and anywhere we are at, he is the happiest when he is right there with us.  He doesn't go for the fancy things.  All he wants is the simple things in life like being loved, fed and close to his humans.

Meditative Journaling

Here's a simple exercise for journaling along with your meditation time. If you feel you can not journal, this might be a good way to try something different. Sometimes recording what we feel and experience helps us connect with what we are seeking or trying to understand or just needing to connect with. This is a very simple exercise and you can adapt it to your meditation time or a moment of silent in your day. Let it work for you and be something that fits into your life.

Find a quiet place where you can be alone. Outside in nature is nice but even in a quiet room where you won't be disturbed is good. When you find that place, spend a couple of moments just centering yourself on your breath and feeling your body support and balance you as you sit there.

When you're ready, grab a piece of paper (on a clipboard or in a notebook can work great). Then begin to list every single word that comes to your mind, one right after another. No matter how silly or unimportant the word may seem, make a list of these words. How many you record is up to you.

Next, after you have listed the words - try writing a short sentence that comes to mind about the word. Why did it come into your mind? What were you thinking about? What prompted you to write it down. Let that sentence flow as you give life and meaning to the word.

When you are done writing your sentences, take a moment to read back through them and then just sit with what you have written. More than likely, you're going to see a pattern emerge and all of these words together will tell a story of what you need to hear in that moment. It is like an opening in to finding that which you want to connect to. Of course, you may realize that all the time, these things were just part of you. This was but a simple exercise to help you connect with them.

And now if you are one of the people who say writing is difficult and you struggle to journal or sit in meditation - well guess what - you've just done all those things!

*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Cats Live In The Moment

Have you ever noticed how a cat lives in the moment? They don’t necessarily worry about where they are going to find food tomorrow or the next day or what activities they will do. There are no long term planned out goals and no events they have to attend. There aren’t made up to do lists and deadlines. They just live in the moment.

While we as humans maybe cannot live our lives completely as if a cat does, there are many things we can do to live in the moment. Often as humans, we put so many demands upon ourselves and we create more work and stress for ourselves than in all reality is needed. Consider for a moment everything you do in a day. What is the purpose of it? Is it all necessary? Yes, there is the shopping, the taking care of a family, performing your career duties and interacting with friends. That is all true.

However, again I ask, is it all necessary? And if it is, could there be another way to do things? What about a way with more ease, simplicity and focus? What if you stopped for a moment and considered all you had to do, letting the full breadth of your creativity and analytical abilities ponder what was before you? Perhaps, this would be a better way to make it through your day.

We often react to situations as they come at us and in those moments, the stress and tension is higher than if we were in a relaxed state. What if we just paused for a moment and looked at the situation? Where might that get us? I would suggest that the outcome of taking a pause in the moment would get us further than just reacting to what was going on and trying to solve the situation immediately. Sure, there are times, when time is of the essence and so as we think about this, let us keep that in perspective.

As I go back to watching a cat, I see just how they live in the moment. When they feel like eating, they eat. When they want to play, they play. When they want to sleep, they sleep. It is purely in the moment. They are for the most part, tuned into what their body needs. While we as humans cannot live like cats do, we can take pauses in our own life and focus on living in the moment every chance we get. We could experience life from living in the moment if we allowed ourselves to do this.

Living in the moment can come in all forms no matter how busy you are in a day. There can be the step outside the office door for two minutes, to take a deep breath of fresh air and allow yourself to feel it as it fills every cell of your body. There can be the 30 seconds sitting at your desk just allowing yourself to focus on your breathing and feel how all of it fills every sense of your being. Maybe a stand up and stretch during your day in a busy office can allow you to connect with that body you live in all 24 hours of the day. Of course these are just examples in a busy day for you to stop, pause and enjoy a moment of living in life.

For me, I try to mix in my day many different ways of pausing. To each person, the many possibilities will be different from person to person. I can be at home with myself as I’m working in a garden, feeling every grain of soil as I connect with the earth which to me is a source of strength and grounding. As the sun warms my body, I can feel revived again throughout every functioning cell of my body. It may be just a stroll down the street in the evening air or a ride through the country. It might be stopping at listening or observing the birds flying around me or seeing the ripples through the trees and lake of my favorite local park. Sometimes it is sitting by the window with my cat in my arms observing the wind moving the trees through the air without effort. It could even be a simple moment listening to some beautiful music that takes my mind away from the busy moments in my day. There are so many examples that I could give and I’m sure in your own life, you will be able to find those simple things. Treat it as a treasure hunt and see all of the great gifts we have waiting just waiting for us to accept them.

I remember when I was going to massage school at Educating Hands and working full time. School was 3 nights a week plus often one of the weekend days and work was at least 8 hours a day. Between school and studying along with daily life activities, there was not much time left for anything else. One of the things I did was to take Yoga on Saturday mornings. Sure, it took a couple of hours or so by the time I traveled there and took the yoga class. Often I would wonder if I was making good use of my time until the class was over and I would see the benefits. Yoga would give me a time of just stopping, clearing my mind and connecting with my body. The rest of the day, I would be much more productive than I would have been if I had not gone to yoga. Just stopping and taking a pause offers us so much. Indeed it offers us life!

I hope you will join me in finding pauses and moments of stillness in our days. Whether it is something elaborate or something very simple, may we all find a way to stop, clear our mind and just connect to the bodies we inhabit 24 hours a day. For if we all do this, we will have given our days, our bodies and our lives so much life!