Have you ever done this? It’s a saltwater float tank. They’re popping up around town and I’m starting to think I need to go visit them because truly, doesn’t this woman look peaceful? I mean when was the last time you sat completely still, with no distractions, no texts, no electronics, and no book to stimulate your mind, for 60 straight minutes? (no. sleeping doesn’t count.)
It’s been a while for me. . . like so long I can’t remember.
I had 30 minutes of unexpected reflection time, all to myself yesterday. But it looked a little different from the girl above. It looked more like this:
That’s right. The steak we fed my sweet big girl pup Hartley on Easter? It came back to visit us in the night all over the floor in Oakley’s room. I don’t think it was “the best part of waking up” that Foldger’s had in mind in that coffee commercial jingle from my childhood. 😉 To make things worse, we don’t have margin planned in our mornings for special treats like this.
It was so patiently waiting for me when I returned from taking the boys to school.
Ready to get to work for the first day (after a 4 day break!). Let’s just say I wasn’t super excited about this. But I decided to try to make the best of it by tuning in to one of my favorite podcasts while I worked. Serendipitously, the most recent episode was an interview with Juliet Funt the founder of WhiteSpace at Work. It was fascinating. She spoke of the brutal cost of overload and how to reclaim the rest we all need.
While I’m scrubbing the floor, mind you.
She’s talking about how we’re frazzled, exhausted, anxious, stressed out, and fried. That we sublimate through distraction, caffeine and dopamine hits that keep us running, but take an enormous toll on our bodies. And my favorite line. . .
“I want my legacy to be sane and humane, with a concept of thoughtfulness. Remembering the habit of the pause. Life happens in the white space.”
She told stories of what happens when we purposefully create margin for reflection in our lives. What I found most interesting is that all her stories led to margin for connection, even though she didn’t highlight the concept. If we’re practicing the habit of the pause, we have extra time and space in our lives for the people we love the most. And we set a sane and humane example for them, of a healthier way of life.
When we create margin for reflection, it creates margin for connection.
When was the last time in your crazy, frazzled, busy life, you set aside 5 minutes to pause?
To turn off the radio, the T.V., put your cell phone in a drawer and just breathe.
Today’s is a good day to start.
I’ll join you.
to more love,
Crystal
