Pause. Repeat. Back to Basics.

Today I am grateful for the wisdom shared by others in recovery. I am also grateful for a fall breeze and the sound of leaves rustling and skirting across the trail or road.

One of the many benefits of gratitude practice for me is that it reminds me to slow down. Pause. Literally to take a moment. Notice. Be still. Savor. I remain prone and susceptible to overdoing life.I start doing, I find more to do, I add to my to-do list. I get to a certain tipping point and I can't seem to stop myself.

On a good day, I become absorbed in what I am doing and it is a time of mindfulness and presence. On a rough day, I get swallowed up by my own best intentions. I go from mindfulness to mind fullness. I get scattered and frazzled and worry about running out of time. I stop noticing. I stop enjoying. I wear myself out.

Yesterday I was headed for frazzled and frustrated, but I am learning to take the right actions. Pausing is an action. I made a decision to go see some friends and leave my to-do commitments at home for an hour or so. I took time to take time. Instead of being lost, some moments were magnified and I returned to some sort of balance.

And in the midst of pausing, I saw a reminder looking right at me. A reminder on a pencil. It said "Let's get back to BASICS."  In some minds, that would have registered as a pencil manufacturer advertising itself. In my mind, my focused and still mind, it was a much-needed message from a power beyond me. Back to basics. Stay in the moment. Take it a day at a time.

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