What with Passover and Easter converging this week, we are reminded of symbolic renewals. Why not take some inspiration from the season and make a little time for your own renewal as well?
If this idea sounds alien to you, consider all of the activities you are engaged in, obligations for which you are accountable, and the myriad things you just don’t get to. We have become a society of “more, better, faster” and “get it done now” and this can leave us in a state of spin.
Even if you’re really good at keeping pace with such intensity, you need to take a pause every once in a while, and now is as good a time as any. Use the pause to think through and rebalance your priorities, to eliminate or reduce toxic situations, and to add a little bit of “me” time (even if it’s as little as a half hour).
Take this pause alone. No electronic devices. No phones. No stimuli that will distract you. If you are sincere about taking this breather but feel pressured about your priorities, forget the agenda. You can simply sit quietly and do some deep breathing. That’s it.
Scientists at Stanford University have discovered why deep breathing can be so calming. They deduce that it is because deep breaths do not activate the neurons that interact with the brain’s arousal system.
This gives scientific “justification” to what practitioners of meditation and yoga have known all along. Imagine how easy it is to need no equipment, pay no fee, and have the flexibility to do this anywhere!
Take a pause in the days ahead. The bonus will be that you discover something new that you had forgotten about or not seen. What a gift! All from a little pause.
Have a great day!
