On the highway, a car zooms up behind and rides right on my tail a while. I send the driver a telepathic message: Move away from me! Suddenly, the car accelerates, just missing my fender, darts into the next lane and jumps through traffic, like the highway is a chessboard. Anxiety floods through me. Two minutes later when I come to the stop light at the off ramp, there’s the same car, waiting just like me. Now, we’re both wired up, adrenals pumping, wasting life energy for nothing.
A Feverish State of MindI used to drive like that too. These days I work at home. I drive mindfully. But what about the way I drive myself through my life? I’m often reckless with myself, pushing hard, boosting my energy up into overdrive the moment I roll out of bed. And, it’s not as if it does any good. I don’t accomplish any more by working myself into a feverish state. It leaves me older, frailer and sadder.
Less StressOn our wedding anniversary, my husband & I talked about how we’d like our life to be different. It came down to one thing – less stress. That would mean more joy, prosperity – because we’d be alive in the moment rather than pushing for some unseen future. We’re clear about this; it doesn’t mean we’ll stop accomplishing our dreams. Instead, we’ll make the journey with more mindfulness, letting ourselves be nourished by experiencing our lives rather than pushing through them.
The Sane PaceSo, I’ve been seeking my sane pace – the one where my body moves in rhythm with the earth instead of my mind driving me toward the next objective. It begins with the first thought upon waking. I stop my mind from racing into my to-do list and slow to simply noticing my body, the light, the air, the sounds. I breathe. Somehow time expands.
There are all sorts of practices to set the sane pace. What seems to work best is entraining the mind with the body. Anything done mindfully in accordance with your body’s natural rhythm will be supportive – yoga, meditation, journaling, taking a walk, deep breathing. Some days you’ll have more vigor, some days you won’t feel well. These are natural rhythms. Let your body lead.
An Experiment
Try this out. Take one day and decide to move through it at a sane pace. Entrain your mind to follow the rhythm of your body. Start off with mindfulness and movement. When you eat, take in the nourishment. With each thing you do, whether brushing your teeth, driving to work or spending time with your kids, be there in the moment. Now, do that again tomorrow. After a week, look back and see how you’ve accomplished at least as much as you would have by driving yourself, but now you have reserves of peace and joy.
Copyright ©2005, Bubbling Well – Rhonda Hess
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Coaching from Center is published bi-weekly on the 2nd and 4th weeks each month by Rhonda Hess of Bubbling Well, providing mentor coaching to professional coaches.
