it’s late and i’m winding down with my computer, a yummy smelling candle, and some clean sheets (there’s nothing better. ok. there is. but, clean sheets are wonderful to slide in to). before i close my eyes, though, i need to write this post. i told a friend from the blogging world that i would give an update, so here it is.
holly, who’s been in japan on this amazing, spiritual-sounding, solo vacation & tour, asked me the other day how my 30 minutes of free time was going. i am proud to say that i have made it 7 days! yep. seven days, 30 minutes a day, just to be. what a wonderful gift to myself, actually… making me feel more calm, relaxed, and at peace. being committed to this time has also made me feel more like me. more in touch with myself. more willing to begin to create space in my life so that all of my thoughts & focus throughout the day are not on myself, but on how i can be used. i’m feeling inspired, grounded, connected, and yearning to get to that time of day where i am alone with my thoughts. it’s so funny, i think, how turning inward actually leads you to turn more outward. being leads to doing. i suppose it’s the inspiration, the reminders of what’s most important in life because of the opportunity to ponder & wonder.
most days during the past week i have gotten up early in the morning, but a few times i have squeezed in 30 minutes during another part of the day. i’ve read some, written in my journal some, meditated some, and walked some. there has been no music, only the silence & me. and my thoughts, which i can rarely shut off. in any case, it feels good. and i am proud i’ve made it for a week. now, just a few more to go and i’ll have myself a new habit. yes!
soon, a friend of mine from ireland will be joining me by creating her own 30 minute zone once she gets home from visiting her family. and i’ll see if there might be another friend who joins in as well… all in all, so far, i am thoroughly enjoying this . i’ve spent disciplined time with myself before, but i’ve always made it fairly routine & rigid. light a candle. read. write. read. write. blow out the candle. get dressed & ready for my day. and that was really, really great during that period in my life. it was exactly what i needed then. but, now, i feel more free. more creative. more spontaneous. i don’t plan at all what i am going to do. i go with the flow, the feeling i have. i listen to the voice within; and i simply grab a book, or take a walk, or make a list, or just sit there. feels perfect.
so, please, keep wishing me luck or sending me good vibes. it’s truly as if i can feel them. your support & thoughts somehow make it to me. i can feel it & i am so thankful. and if you aren’t spending 30 minutes with yourself, try finding just 2 minutes to just be. just 2 minutes. and let me know how it goes. we’ll support each other.
wishing you some peace & silence.
I should try it. I need 30 minutes. desperately need it. sending good, positive vibes to you. xx
thank you, c. sending all those vibes right back to you. thinking of you… xx
Congrats on your 7 days, Liz! I’m glad to hear it’s going so well. I thought about joining in it myself, but I seem to be doing pretty well with my current system (read the Bible daily, journal whenever there’s something on my mind). It’s sometimes just 5 minutes but other times much longer. So I don’t think I’ll commit to the 30 minute thing right now. Maybe at some other point in my life… who knows! Anyway, my thoughts are with you as you continue in this new discipline. 🙂
hey carissa! thanks! oh, if you have a system that def works for you right now, keep it going!! thanks for the thoughts. i’m receiving them & sending them right back!
Aw Liz, you really are a good, positive, inspiring person! I’m afraid I fell behind on other peoples blogs during the holiday period and just a couple of days ago had to resign myself to clicking ‘mark all as read’ and starting over, because as much as I tried, i couldn’t catch up. That’s a round about way of saying I missed your previous blogs!
I started my meditation course on Wednesday evening. Oh, it felt lovely! It was only week one, and we only did a 10 minute meditation (out of the two and a half hours we were there) but I somehow hit the spot within those 10 minutes and found a new love. We are supposed to meditate for ten minutes every day as homework, and I was excited to get home last night and try it alone … however, it was only as I was dropping off to sleep in bed that I realised i’d forgotten to do it. I’m in such a bad habit, when I have nothing on, of getting home, plugging myself in to the TV and staying there, zoned out, until bed. This weeks target is to change that.
That’ll be my own version of your thirty minutes 🙂 x
I am right there with ya! When I get home, I’m worth nothing. It’s me, the tv, and completely zoning out…. hence the early morning 30 minute time. Or perhaps some other time in the day. But, never at night. It’s not possible. I have zero motivation in the evenings.
It’s so cool to hear about your meditation course! I’m jealous! I really want to find something that I can do in a group… yoga, meditation. Something. I’m excited to hear how it goes for you & how you feel about it. Wishing you tons of luck with meeting you meditation goal! I’m counting you as joining me in this “time alone” thing. 10 minutes or 30 minutes… it doesn’t matter. What does matter, and what is cool, is that we are both committing to spending some time looking inward and just letting ourselves be. So, you’re in! I’m counting you as one who supports & inspires me!
And thank you for your kind, sweet words… and for reading! Hope your weekend is absolutely splendid! xx
Congrats on your 7! It’s so ironic that I read your post about that. I recently had quit smoking and my sleep pattern is all off. I’ve been going to bed really early and getting up really early (like, 4:30 a.m.) which, sounds a bit painful but it’s allowed me to get up and make breakfast, have coffee and read before getting ready to go to work – which, is very relaxing. I don’t do it all the time but when I do I enjoy it. I am hoping you enjoy those moments of peace in the mornings!
Hey Lanie! Thanks for commenting on my blog. So nice to meet you! I am most definitely enjoying my moments of peace… it’s such a grounding feeling to connect with myself before I get all crazy throughout the day. The peace actually seems to follow me as I go about my day. I wish you all the luck in quitting smoking & and I hope that you, too, enjoy the time that you find yourself alone with your thoughts. ~Liz
7 days. YAY. Well I’m back from skiing and ready to join in! I’ve always wanted to be able to do the splits and after talking to my friend who’s a ballet dancer I now know that this is actually possible even if you could never do them in your life. She said stretch every day for 15 minutes – missing a day will put you back a week!!! So there’s some kick in my lazy but. Bring it on! My plan is to get up in the morning. Meditate and breath for 15 min and then stretch for 15 min. Wish me luck xx
Sounds great, Nicole!!! Good luck! I’m still holding on & trying to keep my moments going, even though I’m in the states now! Hope your skiing vacation was perfect! Love ya!!