Days When It Is Hard To Stay Centered

There are days and boy, is today one of those.  I can normally stay centered most of the time, but from the moment I got startled out of bed by a telemarketer until now, its been anything but calm.

The first thing that greeted me was financial software nightmares.  Then a major online app that I use to help manage my online stuff was being anything but helpful.

It seemed like one thing after another.  I'm already tired and fed up with the nonstop political ranting, raving, and overall meanness by everyone in social media and the news.  There isn't anything in that entire discussion that seems human to me and I'm trying my hardest to avoid it.  Yet, it seems like everyone wants to force me to read and hear the stuff.  When politics starts being human again, than I'll start listening.  Until then, its a bunch of noise-filled stress.

Getting myself to stop isn't easy...

Getting myself to stop and just take a time-out moment isn't easy.  I feel like the little brat of a child causing problems that needs to be put in the corner for a time-out.  I'm the adult here and it seems like it should be easy to convince myself that I need to stop and chill for a second.  Yet, my mind convinces me that I've got a zillion things to get done and in no way can I stop.

In fact, that's what I told myself all the years until I was paralyzed from the Conversion Disorder.  I thought I could do it all.  I never stopped.  I never rested.  I just kept pushing and pushing.  I kept hiding things and hiding them until they could no longer be seen.  It didn't end well either.  You would think I would have learned by now but some days I'm pretty hard headed.

Just writing this at this moment, helps me stop and think about it.  It brings it up - front and center - so that I can not hide from it or push it away.  It says - look you hard headed clunk head - you're not helping yourself if you just keep stressing and pushing and hiding everything.  "I know," I say in return, but sometimes I just don't listen to the better part of myself.

It is easy to go on autopilot in life...

Its easy to go on autopilot in life.  In fact, sometimes that helps us hide from the swirling pile of doo doo in our life we don't want to look at.  It helps us numb from it and avoid it.  I get it.  I understand because I feel like I could teach a masterclass in how all of this works.

The difficult part is getting myself to stop and say - enough!  I don't need to do the harm to my body and mind I'm doing.  I can write the words, but putting it in practice is something I'd rather just not talk about.... yet, I need to talk about it.

So, for now - I'm prioritizing what I need to get done.  What's the most important things and then the rest of it will have to wait.  I'm going to take a few minutes and just chill and rest.  I'm going to go focus on my breath and come back into my body.  Spending all my time up in my head isn't going to get me as far as if I can connect my mind with my body.

I know what I need to do in order to connect my mind and body together.  I write about it.  Its just not always easy to stay centered.  I'm sure I am  not alone and others struggle with the exact same thing.  After-all, I can't be the only one that is this hard headed, can I?   That's a rhetorical question of course.

So, please feel free to leave a comment below and tell me what you do when the stuff is piling up and your mind and body so need a chill moment.  How do you get yourself to stop in that moment and come back home inside, rather than shoving and stuffing down all of this deep inside?

It felt better to just write about this and share it.  Maybe that's what I need to do because it makes me more aware of it and by becoming aware of something, we can do a better job of dealing with it.  It doesn't mean we will solve the issue in under ten seconds, but I do know that the more aware we are, the more human we are.

That's my story for now and I'm sticking to it!

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Plants Are A Model To Us

One of the things that I enjoy doing is growing vegetables in my earthboxes. While this looks like just something that is a hobby, it is more than that to me. No matter what is going on in my day, week or year, I can always count on my plants to be there, doing what they do best - growing.

So here are some pictures of my plants (just click on the links below). A few facts for the gardeners out there. These were all planted on Feb 19 and the growing zone is in Central Florida near the Atlantic coast. I have six earthboxes, 3 of which are planted with tomatoes, 1 with sweet corn, 1 with peas and 1 with cantaloupe.

EarthBox - Tomatoes Picture

EarthBox - Sweet Corn Picture

EarthBox - Cantaloupe Picture

EarthBox - Peas Picture


Growing vegetables and plants not only gives me a feeling of being connected to mother earth, but it helps center me when the storms of life hit the hardest. Just being out there around these plants gives me a feeling like no other can give. It is like nothing else matters in that moment. When the plants have finished their growth cycle, I find that sadness fills me as I see the end of their lives appear.

Just like plants, we too grow in cycles with our lives. We emerge and discover through the rocks, soil and weather conditions of the environment surrounding us. Hopefully we grow strong roots that can carry us through these various cycles. As we emerge, we head towards the light, learning and yearning for all that there is. Plants are a model to us and they are beacons of hope, living in that they encounter.

More information on the earthboxes can be found at www.earthbox.com . They are unique growing systems designed to maximize resources and provide an abundance of produce. They last for years and are very efficient systems. I have been growing garden vegetables with the earthbox for almost 4 years now.



Blog Post & Images (c) 4/12/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Meditation Time

Ahhh, those quiet moments of our day where we just stop in our lives. Not a care or concern to think about. No tasks to be completed in this moment. All is at rest and at peace. A time where this one moment is all that we are concerned with in our lives.

I used to think that a time of meditation meant a person was to sit cross-legged and chanting some om's or something. Before then, I thought it was called "quiet time" where you read your bible and prayed. To be very honest, neither practice really did much for me. When I tried to do these things, I got bored and gave up. There never seemed to be time in my day for them.

After hearing people tell me time and time again, how important meditation was for my life, I finally found something that worked for me. This time though, I created what I felt I needed to do and what would be most beneficial. My goal was to make it into something that worked so well for my life, it would be a moment in my day that I looked forward to and enjoyed. I knew if it was not something I looked at with anticipation, then any practice would be short lived.

Fortunately, I have a very peaceful backyard with a screened in pool. The weather is typically nice enough to allow me to be outside most of the year. There are enough birds that come to visit me and talk to me. This is the space that renews and refreshes me.

In order to make this work, I set my alarm so I can spend 30-45 minutes in the morning as soon as I wake up. I head down to my quiet space where I bring a fresh glass of water. The water feels so grounding, calming and refreshing to me. I've got some comfy patio chairs and now I have a snuggie to help keep me warm on the cool mornings. I've created a safe, comfortable space that just allows me to be there in the moment and let go but not fall asleep.

When I get in my meditation time, I hold no expectations for anything to take place. I allow each morning to unfold in the way it needs to. Each meditation time is different and sometimes I just am more focused than other times. My hope for the meditation time is that I allow myself time to stop and listen.

I may be listening to birds at times or focusing on my breathing. There are days that I listen to all the sounds around me or take in all the beauty that my eyes see. Most of the time, these moments of listening help draw me into myself so that I can listen to everything going on in my life. I notice that when I stop and allow this to happen, that the messages and information are in abundant supply.

Every day, I take a blank piece of paper and I give myself the opportunity to write whatever it is that my hands wish to write. Some days it is more elaborate and other days it is short personal thoughts. I never think about what I need to write as the writing just happens. It is as if the words flow from my hands as a source of information for my day. I do limit myself to one sheet of paper so that I hold boundaries within my day and respect my schedule. It helps to keep me more focused in my meditation time.

It is amazing what shows up on the blank piece of paper. It is as if the words are meant to be. The words are a communication as I listen to all that is around me and that which becomes a part of my meditation time. The words tell a story as they give moments of clarity, moments of asking the question, inspiration and encouragement. Often, the words become answers to questions weighing upon my mind.

Instead of my meditation time becoming something that is boring to me, it is exciting and refreshing each day. While I try to do this every day, I try not to be demanding upon myself. Instead, I allow my body to have permission to rest or to rise and spend this time.

Most of the time, I am out of bed when the alarm clock goes off and ready to heal towards my peaceful space in meditation. When I give myself this time of meditation in the morning, I notice that my days are more centered and grounded. It is truly a moment where nothing else matters and life is so full and abundant.

(c) 11/12/10 by Don Shetterly - use by Permission only