September 8, 2012 ~ Restoring Balance

September 8, 2012 ~ Restoring Balance

"Silence is like a cradle holding our endeavors and our will; a silent spaciousness

sustains us in our work and at the same time connects us to larger worlds that,

in the busyness in our daily struggle to achieve, we have not yet investigated.

Silence is the soul's break for freedom."

~David Whyte

A glorious weekend of hiking and playing in the sun dappled waters of the Navarro River in the redwood country of northern California has renewed my spirits and provided some insight and perspective on the rhythm of life as I have been living it. There was something liberating about being "unplugged"—out of cell service range, with no access to a computer, a TV or radio; no ability to text, tweet, send emails, catch up on the 24/7 news cycle. There was just be-ing ~ walking among the giant redwoods, basking in the noonday sun, sitting by the fire at night listening to scary stories and singing camp songs, connecting with nature, with oneself, with others in ways our busy lives don't always allow.

On the drive home I found myself reluctant to pull out the smart phone and check messages, emails, and texts. I waited as long as I could. The contrast of the weekend apart gave me perspective, revealed to me the imbalance of it all. How freeing it was to not feel like I should check messages in case someone needed an instant reply. What is so very urgent? How did we get to this place where we need information instantly and we need people to reply to our calls and messages right away? We put so much pressure on ourselves.

Even this blog...I've come to the realization that attempting to write every day for 365 days is actually not honoring my own inner rhythm. It will still be "a year of living in gratitude"...writing as the spirit moves and sharing the pearls of insight I find along the way...just not necessarily every day!

I love the yin-yang symbol. The ancient Chinese got it right. We experience wholeness when there is a balance of yin (feminine, dark, rest, contraction) and yang (masculine, light, activity, and expansiveness) and we allow for the natural flow of one into the other. We experience more harmony and balance when we honor our body's natural rhythms of action and inaction, rest and activity. Even the heart rests between beats and the lungs rest between breaths.

So, I have resolved to initiate another spiritual practice: remembering the Sabbath. Wayne Muller wrote a wonderful book titled Sabbath: Finding Rest, Renewal, and Delight in our Busy Lives. The book offers suggestions and practices from various spiritual traditions designed to help us unplug and find peace in the spaciousness of rest and silence. He says: 

"'Remember the Sabbath' means 'Remember that everything you have received is a blessing. Remember to delight in your life, in the fruits of your labor. Remember to stop and offer thanks for the wonder of it.'"

One can take one day during the week, or an hour every day, or whatever time frame feels right—to unplug from the media blast, to cease activity, to center within, meditate, rest, take a walk among the trees, smell the roses, just BE, experience one's natural rhythms, one's connection to life. Wishing you this kind of peace today and always. Blessed be.