Have we forgotten how to just be?
We hear it all the time. The importance of being mindful. For being present. To enjoy the moment.
The past two years living in a pandemic have felt….well uncomfortable. Hard. Stressful.
We have been drawn to things that will help us numb. Disconnect from the hard. To make us forget what we really are feeling.
We’ve been taught that we can muster change. We can choose joy at every moment. That we have the ability to make everyday…perfect. We’ve been fed this lie to the point that we are all living with unrealistic expectations of what our day to day life is supposed to be.
But have we forgotten to just BE?
When is the last time you allowed yourself time to sit with your thoughts? No distractions. No checking your phone. For me personally, it had been a VERY long time.
Sitting with our own thoughts sometimes feels prickly and unfamiliar. We’ve trained our brains that distraction is coping, when in reality it never allows wounds to heal or planted seeds to grow.
For Christmas, my husband gifted me with an overnight stay at a spa that is about a 45 minute drive from our home. A chance to unplug and recharge. The spa has a relaxation room filled with soft classical music, fruit infused water, rocking chairs that overlook a pool, and luxurious robes to wear all day. What more could a girl want! The main rule in the relaxation room is NO PHONES.
I didn’t think much of this rule at first. Wrapped in a cozy robe, I grabbed my cup of steaming coffee and sat in one of the creaking rocking chairs. I took a sip of my coffee and sighed a deep breath. Not even a minute went by before I subconsciously reached for my phone. But I didn’t have my phone with me. Phones aren’t allowed in the relaxation room. I also did not have a book or my planner with to distract me. I sat there listening to the soft classical music and realized I was there, alone with my own thoughts. Why did this feel so foreign? The quiet without distraction. Why did I suddenly feel uncomfortable in my own skin? I had no distractions. I just had to be.
I rocked with my coffee in the quiet, enveloped in my own thoughts for about a half an hour. It felt long. It felt difficult. But as the minutes ticked, I felt my shoulders relax. I felt the stress drain out of my jaw. I felt my short breaths become long and intentional. My body was slowly remembering how to just be. It felt like an old friend coming back and giving me a hug.
As heavy as the world is right now, making space to hear our own thoughts may be something that makes everything just a little bit lighter. Sending anyone reading this extra encouragement in this hard world right now.
Warmly,
Jenna