In the still of the night (and day)
Hello you pick of destiny.
Well friends... I came, I saw, I retreated.
Actually, I didn't do a spectacular job of being still this past week-- it turns out that trying to disconnect from life the week before helping to run two big workshops is not as easy as it sounded in my addled head. Despite this context, however, I did enjoy a few lovely moments of peace this past week, and I learned a few things to take into future efforts.
TURN IT OFF: While I did have to work on and off most of the week, I managed to take one full day offline to just be. And even that one day felt like such a restorative and generous gift to myself. So what did my day of 'being' look like? Beyond the obvious effort to stay away from screens (no computer, phone, TV, etc...), I also minimized inputs (like music or podcasts) and outputs (like accomplishing anything really)-- steering clear of anything that took me out of the present or looked anything like productivity. Which meant I spent a big portion of the day in my body (going for a long swim in the morning, taking a nap and hiking around Pink Lake in the afternoon), with my self (taking space for a few different meditation sessions throughout the day, both at home and outdoors in nature) and generally keeping life as soft, simple and quiet as I could muster (sometimes just sitting with a cup of tea and watching the steam-- I know that sounds a little forced, but genuinely by the end of the day that felt like something I wanted to do, so I did and I liked it). It was such a joy to disconnect (and therefore reconnect with myself) so fully, at least for one day. I want to go for longer next time, but the small glimpse into stillness really highlighted how scattered and distracted the day-to-day can be. We all know this, but experiencing it was something more profound and I am grateful for the tangible insight. I will definitely be carving out time for more "being" days in my future. (and PS: if you are interested in turning off deeply for short bursts, I am also a big fan of floating, which I also did this week--- I used to do it in Belgium years ago, and have recently found a few good places here in Ottawa. HIGHLY recommended, though not for claustrophobes...)
PLANNING MATTERS: Despite my efforts to push back against the culture of urgency and hyper-productivity, the reality is that the only reason I was able to have my "day of being" was because I was deliberate about making it happen. I decided to do it a couple of days before, I gave my colleagues a heads up that I would be offline, I set out my swimming gear the night before, I moved my laptop and ipad out of sight, etc... Similar to the effort of Present Me to do gifts for Future Me, I really wanted this space and I didn't want to waste the time I had protected doing things that didn't bring me closer to the stillness I was craving. Because let's be honest, friends: We are all our own worst enemies. And yet it is also true that the only person who is going to save yourself from yourself is yourself. #RecursiveSelfReference I am increasingly convinced of the importance of being deliberate and intentional about creating space and doing whatever it takes to make stillness happen. For example, I wonder about applying the Pomodoro Technique on a more macro scale. I like the idea of having more focus and flow in life, both in service to my productive times and my still spaces. Cultivating defined boundaries and time around both ways of being-- productive and still-- feels like it would help nourish both.
So that is it for now. But of course this is just about the how, not the what. I also have some broader thoughts and ideas that came out of the fallow times this week, which I will continue to mull over and eventually weave into these dispatches. But in terms of the concrete practice of taking/making time to be still and exist and what came of my initial efforts, you are now in the loop.
But wait! Is all this talk of disconnecting from the world a bit too confronting for you in this digital age? Then please enjoy this video introducing Speedgate: a game created entirely by AI, synthesizing the information from over 400 sports playbooks. Still too much realness? Then please check out the weird and wonderful world of competitive dog grooming.
From one stillness-appreciating person to another, I am glad that we can explore the boundaries of how we spend our time and create space together. I hope you enjoyed this dispatch, and have an insight-filled week!
Until next Sunday,
The Earnest Platypus