Margaret has asked us to share our One Little Word
on this Spiritual Journey Thursday.
Her post is here.
I didn't choose One Little Word (OLW) for 2023. I chose an OLW for just the first three months of 2023. (You can read that explanation here.) And my OLW for the first quarter of the year is
Conscious.
It's been five days of living with this word, and here's my biggest revelation: I have a very hard time being present for, and sometimes dealing with, very current circumstances. Here are some examples:
Instead of greeting the day with a stretch and a check-in with my body and heart, my brain starts listing the reasons I can't hit the snooze button (morning routine, feeding the birds, I'll fall asleep again and run late...)
Instead of just making coffee and emptying the dishwasher, I'm thinking about whether or not my pants will fit, what I'm going to write in my morning pages, what my upcoming appointment with a new doctor will be like...
Instead of enjoying a hot shower, the litany of work tasks and unanswered emails I've sent is on loop in my mind, causing me to pause and wonder if I've remembered to soap up...
Instead of directly dealing with a task that may take me longer than I'd like, I stop to eat chocolate...
Instead of being fully present to people I'm speaking with, I'm still mentally running that work list...
Instead of fully enjoying all the stuff I have to make my life enjoyable, I'm easily enticed by sales of the next great/ fun/ helpful/ fix-all-your-problems thing...
You get the idea. I have prided myself on not living in the past or being a worrier, but I also suffer from living too much in the future. I'm robbing myself of the present.
My first baby steps are a few moments of silent meditation before my morning reading, and consciously engaging my senses in the shower in an attempt to drown out the mental chatter. I caught myself working hard to be present in a training this week, too, and avoiding multitasking as much as possible (THAT is hard!).
Hopefully, my Spiritual Journey Thursday post in March will document some improvement in my ability to be as fully present as possible--and I'll be able to pick another OLW for the next quarter.
Since I usually forget about my OLW by March, it's probably a good idea to choose a quarterly word. I laughed at all your specific examples of not living in the moment. Meditation is harder than you think. I wish you luck in your endeavors to be more conscious.
ReplyDeleteWith our minds constantly racing it is hard to live in the present. Although multitasking is great, it does tend to scatter our energy and take us out of the present. Good luck on your journey.
ReplyDeleteI like your intention to choose a quarterly word. And conscious asks so much of us. I chuckled when I read this example: "Instead of directly dealing with a task that may take me longer than I'd like, I stop to eat chocolate..." b/c I've been there, done that. Best of luck with your efforts this 1st quarter of 2023.
ReplyDeleteChris, this making a 'conscious' effort is both challenging and rewarding, as you illustrate so well with your "insteads". Oh, the effort to drown out mental chatter and be present in a training -!!! That takes tremendous effort! The revelation of robbing yourself of the present is what strikes me the deepest. The desire to slow down, focus, and "just be" is a common theme for so many of us these days...indicating the need is very real. I've known others to choose quarterly or even monthly words before and will be interested to see where this word-journey takes you. Happy New Year, my friend!
ReplyDeleteChris, first I am so sorry for arriving to your SJT so late but life interrupts many of my plans. Conscious is a word that is near to mine, "be". Both are words that are present in the now. Both ask us to slow down, not indulge in multitasking, and fill our days with silent moments. I look forward to reading more about your journey with conscious. I think the addition of your bujo is part of that plan. Happy journaling and best of luck with conscious as your guide.
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