I'm hoping a few deep breaths, some chilled out music and a glass of sparkling water will help me produce a decent post tonight. I feel excited to write, like I'm finally finding a voice for the blog after nearly ten months of jabbering...
I've been pretty organized for the last two days. Stripped down to just the basics. Upon waking each morning I have been drinking a "green monster". A fruit smoothie with a handful of spinach ground in. I thought Katie was joking Sunday morning when she started shoving green leafy stuff in the blender right along with the strawberries and yogurt, but It's been helping a lot. And I'm not one to challenge her when it comes to food choices. She's usually right. I think starting the day off with a serving of fruit and veggies is a plus. It comes out to about 280 calories and carries me a couple of hours into the day. It's also lite and quick to prepare.
I've actually found myself looking forward to rolling out of bed to practice "smoothie meditation" each day. Typically I would grab my phone off the charger and already be plugged in to the nonsense of my email, the stocks, Facebook or my Blogger dashboard before getting dressed. The discipline of staying calm and disconnected in the mornings, even if it's just for a few minutes is taking me to new levels of peace. Stillness in the morning gives my brain the time it needs to wake up and acclimate to my surroundings. Jamming it with social media, stock figures, the stress of work, etc. gets my wheels turning right off the bat and sets me up for a crummy day. On Monday I got a full hour of calm time in the morning and I was sharper all day because of it. I jotted down a few things I wanted to accomplish and relaxed knowing I could easily get everything done. I had more energy to exercise and my thoughts flowed freely in conversation that night when I was out with friends. While it can be incredibly difficult to get out of bed in time to spend time in meditation, I'm going to make a commitment to do this everyday. It's so worth it!
I've also been trying to focus on what I call "quality time". This is time when I can fully devote my attention to my wife and my dog. It seems odd to schedule that time or have to work on prioritizing it, but how often do we really spend time completely devoted to the people we love? I had three things I wanted to accomplish today and the first was to have quality time with my wife when she got home from work. We were a bit strapped for time, but we went to a restaurant and sat down and talked to one another for awhile. Oddly enough we got a lesson in presence when we walked in. A mother was yelling at her son, "What do you want to eat? You're holding up the line!" She was yanking his arm and pulling him through the line like a rag doll. I thought it was such a shame to use your valuable time with a loved one in that way. When we see purposeless anger in other people it is so obvious to us, but we often miss it in ourselves. I can often get mouthy for no reason. When I'm centered and in the present I don't have these issues. Anger, judgment and fear don't seem to creep in and dictate my thoughts.
So this process of better nutrients, more time in stillness and more time with the people I love all adds up to less time stuck in me. Less me is a good thing. Less ego, less thought chatter, less time thinking of everything I need. More time realizing I lack nothing, more time being free, more time being connected, being nurtured, being loved.
More time just being in God's world...
mellow
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