slice of life tuesday: the way out is through
darrah | Tuesday, July 14, 2009 Slice of Life Tuesday is a place to share photos that were taken in the previous week and that capture ordinary moments in extraordinary ways. Every Tuesday, I will post a photo from my daily life and ask for you to do the same. It is sometimes difficult to make time for creativity, but this is a simple and low-key way for all of us to take a moment out of our daily lives for ourselves. Even if you take only one photo the previous week, you've done something for yourself. Don't have a camera handy when you need it? Cell phone photos are welcome here! The photos don't have to be perfect. They don't have to be pretty. They just have to be.
sunset at shilshole bay, seattle; photographed with Nikon D40
The way out is through. ~ Pema Chodron
One word to describe my weekend: calm. While attending Pema Chodron's talks, I found myself grateful for the time to sit still without anywhere else I needed to be. We were asked to maintain silence while in the auditorium. When we were first informed of this, I felt myself panic. Silence? What if I need something? What if I want to ask Jason a question? What if I get sick and need to ask for help? After I came to my senses, I realized that it was actually an opportunity to just stop. Stop talking, stop checking email and voicemail, and slow down the rat race that my brain tends to be on at any given moment.
Surrounded by almost 1000 other people in attendance, I was overwhelmed with a sense of community, a sense that we are all in this messy, joyful, crazy life together. We think that we are alone in our questions and fears, our hopes and doubts. But looking around, I saw myself in every face in the room. What are we all searching for? The short answer is happiness. We all just want to be happy. We are searching for the key that will solve this mystery we've created for ourselves - that will open the door to the things we think we want. Pema spent a lot of time this weekend, talking about the struggles we create because of what we "want" and "don't want." We want what we don't have and we don't want what we do have. We spend our lives wishing things were different in some way. We want to be thinner, have a better job, find a boyfriend, be a better painter/writer/golfer/singer. We don't want to go to work, to talk to that demanding person, to answer that call, to grow old, to make dinner again, to do laundry again, wash the dishes again. You get the picture.
To stay present in life and appreciate what we DO have takes practice. It takes courage to stop that cycle of "want" and "don't want" and to say to ourselves, "I have everything I need at this moment." The more we say this to ourselves, the more we'll start believing it and...wait for it...the happier we'll be!
Would you like to catch up on past Slice of Life Tuesday installments? Check 'em out here.
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Reader Comments (4)
i can imagine a room full of 1000 people even when the are silent, the energy would connect everyone. sounds like an amazing weekend!
nice insights, one that i know i could definitely remind myself of more. staying present.
how do you bring yourself into that practice?? :)
Why is it we are so panicked by the thought of silence? When we spend time there it is such an expansive, connecting experience.
Pema Chodron is exceptional, isn't she? How wonderful you were able to spend time with her, even if it wasn't chatting over tea.
"To stay present in life and appreciate what we DO have takes practice. It takes courage to stop that cycle of "want" and "don't want" and to say to ourselves, "I have everything I need at this moment." The more we say this to ourselves, the more we'll start believing it and...wait for it...the happier we'll be!"----I'm writing that down in my journal right after I hit "create post"!!!
Peace & Love.
Thanks for your comments, ladies!
Melly, you asked how I bring myself into that practice. I suppose the first thing to do when you feel yourself drifting towards thoughts of wanting things to be different is to acknowledge the thought. And acknowledge that thoughts are not reality unless we make them reality. Next, breathe and take a look around. I find that when I get overwhelmed, my vision narrows and I'm not appreciating my surroundings.
Now, keep in mind that I am working on this myself. As I mentioned in the post, it takes practice. It takes time. It takes patience. Alllll easier said than done. But baby steps can go a long way.