Nothing

Everyone I know is too busy, is expected to do more with less, and wants more time. Great, we’ve got that out of the way.

Quite often, this intensity and pace of all that we do leaves our brains mushy and our bodies tense, unable to relax or wind down. I was talking with a peer this week about the importance of pausing occasionally throughout the day and taking a few deep breaths, or intentionally just doing—literally!—nothing for a few minutes.

A challenge I’ve set for myself is to continue to become more mindful of what’s happening inside and around me, while in the throes of busy work and life. A little book I recently enjoyed, At Home in the Muddy Water, describes our intentional “life job” as thus:

1. See and learn
2. Notice our ideals and expectations
3. Watch our habitual patterns
4. Experience our emotional reactions, and see them for what they are and the underlying fears or motivations that drive them

Perhaps you have a different or similar approach that helps you to center down, quiet everything within and keep perspective?