“Gratitude for the present moment and the fullness of life now is the true prosperity.”

– Eckhart Tolle

“And what is it that you do?” This sentence is a pet peeve of mine. I find it socially and conversationally confrontational. It does not give grace to those who are insecure about the answer. I also think its lazy, and a bit rude. Its a social norm to ask it, but it leaves the answerer in a position to account for themselves in a society driven by results, achievements, and ideals. Make an effort to allow those you meet to turn up as they are. try instead “what do you like to do with your time”. But, I digress, I actually want to talk today about what it means to just be. How to be stiller and less focused on creating more.

The pitfall of focusing on achievement is that we can be so caught up in trying to achieve our “best life”, and life itself can pass by and we would have missed the beauty of just being here, the joy of noticing small details, of appreciating each other and the world we are surrounded by.

 “Slow down and smell the roses” and “Life is a journey, not a destination.” We hear quotes like these and relegate them to non consequential, but what if we didn’t? What if life really is in the details?

What if we just paused for a second to take a break. A break from social media. A break from all of the ‘should would could’ actions we might take. Blocked out all the outside noise. Just got quiet. What would your inner voice tell you?

Personally I know that my happiest moments come from the details, I become aware of my happiness when I am aware of the rustling leaves, I become aware of happiness when I become grateful of beauty. I appreciate what my inner knowing is telling me about the nature of things. Its easy to feel stressed if we forget to tap into the inner knowing, and slowing down is the best way I know to reconnect.

One of my favorite books is The Untethered Soul and it goes into great detial about how to find your higher self inside your mind. I think its such a great lesson and should be taught in schools. Here is an audiobook version.

Here is a 10 minute guided meditation. Find a moment

Be kind out there,

Best,

Fran.