So guys, things just got a LOT slower. Personally, I'm very optimistic and excited because I think we need this for so many reasons. More on that in a future post. But as we hang out in our homes, we are getting a feel...
So guys, things just got a LOT slower. Personally, I'm very optimistic and excited because I think we need this for so many reasons. More on that in a future post.
But as we hang out in our homes, we are getting a feel for how slow things can be — and we are just not used to it! We are used to a vata (speedy!) pace of life.
Because we are not used to it, I've seen people seeking and creating extra things to do to keep up with our usual fast pace like, virtual happy hours, virtual ladies' nights, virtual classrooms, Facetime, and an overwhelming explosion of online content.
Our eyes are glued to the screens as we try to analyze, predict, plan and reach for some kind of certainty and connection.
On one hand, these are amazing ways to keep the norm, like classrooms, education, and talking to friends. I'm all for that, within a reasonable amount.
On the other hand, the online digital world can and does create a vata imbalance. Our fast-paced lives cause worry, stress, panic, anxiety, lack of focus, distraction and overall ungroundedness — coming from the external. It's been this way for years and years, so now that we are forced to slow down to a regular, normal pace of life, we get uncomfortable.
So don't create or get sucked into digital, online mayhem.
The world is actually doing us a HUGE FAVOR to reset our rapid pace.
We are afraid of losing connection but maybe what is necessary is disconnection. Just for a little while. Maybe it's a gift.
If we went on vacation instead of being quarantined, would we feel it necessary to fill our time with virtual friends, extra meetings and online activities? No, we go on vacation to avoid that stuff!
We have been GIFTED with slow time right now.
We are GIFTED with the ability to spend more time in nature, hang with family, fix/clean our homes, read books, move our bodies, learn something new, make good food, reduce our spend, reduce our waste. We are GIFTED with time to turn inward, be bored, figure out what life means to us, and what we want our next moves to be once we are out of this.
However, if you fill this GIFT with virtual meetings and screen time, clamoring to find stuff to do online you're going to miss the beauty of this.
You're going to create your own vata imbalance just because you're too uncomfortable to slow down.
Instead of running to the virtual world to fill time and keep up the pace, get hands-on while you're at home.
Vata is balanced with the sense of touch which calms and focuses your mind.
Build something. Paint something. Fix up your yard. Clean off the deck. Put up some nifty wallpaper. Learn how to make a latte. Tell the kids to get outside for 2 hours and figure it out (all the GenXers are like "amen!"). Clean our your closet and put aside donation piles. Hold a book. Bake something yummy. Plant some veggie seeds. Do a science project. Train your dog or kid to have better manners. Watch the fireplace.
REEL IT IN.
You don't need most of the activity you've been used to. Don't stir stuff up. Be okay with the quiet, let it settle, spend a little less time online unless you are truly connecting to people.
Like Ferris said, "Life goes pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."
We have rad opportunity right now to slow down and catch up on what we've been missing. xoxoxo.
P.S. If you want to join me and many others, we are starting our mornings with 20 minutes of self care! We are on day 15 of a 21-day challenge. Learn more and sign up here!