Take the time to do the things you enjoy.
Be it reading, writing or listening; make time for it.
The rat race has us spending a disproportionate amount of time doing things we don’t like, leaving minimal time for those we do. Maximise it.
Tag: meditation
Whilst You Can…Do (5)
Remember to breathe.
It’s the thing that will keep you calm when all around you becomes chaos.
Calm, clarity and serenity can all be achieved by taking care of your breathing.
Knowing more, to feel less…
The plague of likes, comments and followers has reached such an epidemic crisis point that Instagram is said to be considering the opportunity to see your algorithm-controlled social feed with that data hidden. But the beast has grown too large to curtail. We now know more, but feel less.
The social media generation get their value and worth from the numbers underneath their posts and pictures, rather than from what’s contained in the filter-filled images. Turning off the ability to have the apparent appreciation for these posts published to all, will only lead to greater feelings of a lack of worth. After all it’s better that we know the tree was seen falling and ignored, than not know if the tree was seen falling at all.
As a society we’re now programmed for a need to know more. Not more relevant information, but instead more irrelevant information. We are inundated with pictures of dinners, holidays and celebrations, without any of it being directly relevant to our lives. We seek this information to validate our own existence. Are others’ lives better or worse than ours? How can we promote our own lives to appear better than what we have already seen from our peers on these sites?
We have people eating out in restaurants with loved ones and families, documenting the occasion for the benefit of those not even there – potentially those who we only really pseudo-know. The whole process of going to dinner is to give an opportunity for a break from the norm; a break from the inundation of technology. But instead of enjoying this break, we seek to continue the technological enslavery and utilise this opportunity which was designed to allow for more face-to-face interaction – away from phones, tablets and television – to further the social media persona that we feel a need to develop.
We have a generation of teenagers who are more interested in engaging in digitalised interaction when out socialising in the real world; oblivious to the message they are sending out to those around them. Rather than devoting their attention and basic manners to those who have chosen to spend time with them, they are far more concerned with messaging those who have chosen to do otherwise. The same teenagers are avoiding interaction with their family elders when in their presence. Their focus and attention is on everything but those who won’t continue to live for as long as them, but they’ll be sure to continue to commemorate them online when they do pass. Funerals and deaths are after all, social media fodder.
The internet has given the world the opportunity to know so much more about the world. But it has also given us the opportunity to know more, but feel less worthy because of this developed knowledge. Instagram’s potential change could be a positive step, but the beast of validation via social media has already far outgrown any cage that it could be placed back into.
What even is it to be ‘mindful’?
A little while back I was offered the chance to try a subscription to the app Headspace on the recommendation of a friend. The pretence was for it to assist with a busy working life and give the opportunity to clear space within the mind.
With some reluctance, I tried it…and really liked it – well, on the occasions I didn’t fall asleep whilst meditating!
The premise is simple. Control the breathing and think about things, without actively forcing yourself to think about them; as odd as that may sound. I completed the courses linked to appreciation, self-confidence (recent dreams seem to indicate a lack of this) and understanding about emotions, all of which were interesting and engaging. From there I’ve looked to further the philosophical side of thinking about the bigger picture and turned to podcasts.
One that I’ve become a big fan of is the Joe Rogan Experience. Rogan is someone I have been aware of from his involvement with UFC, but I’ve got to say that I’ve found his podcasts fascinating. Often he’ll explore, with the help of a wide range of guests, the idea of being mindful. One of the big messages I’ve taken away recently from his session with Russell Brand, is that ‘this is only a temporary thing’. This being life. And he talks about the need to ‘eek out as much goodness as possible from it whilst we’re able to’.
In a society now where we’ve become obsessed with ‘what next?’ we’re forever forgetting the need to appreciate what is happening now. Right now. None of us knows how much time we have left, or how much time we have left in the current state. We don’t know what the day could bring, or even what that phone call could bring. Rather than worrying about how things could turn out in the future, we need to focus on how things could turn out in the now.
Embrace the day and eek out all the goodness that you can from it.
What when motivation is lacking?
I first set up this blog as a cathartic exercise. A chance to unburden some of the thoughts and feelings that come to mind, as and when they do. It’s worked. The posts put up so far have helped with the meditative process of exploring the thoughts that come to mind. Perhaps that’s why I’ve not felt the need to post in a while.
Until now.
For as long as I can remember I’ve always been involved in sport, largely through being part of a team. The camaraderie and friendships that have been built over the years cannot be understated. Teammates have become friends and I would not have it any other way. But now, the older I get, the less important the element of sporting competition has become. Training and game nights have no longer become a climactic focal point of the week; instead almost becoming a nuisance.
The need to go toe-to-toe on the sporting field has weakened and I would like to think that this is due to the necessity of winning becoming less important as life and its priorities change. But there is a nagging doubt that it’s because the task of winning has simply become more difficult with age. I’ve seen teammates succumb to retirement and consider that it’s potentially on the horizon for myself. It’s not something I’ve thought of until the clock ticked on the wrong side of 30 and I’ve long been of the mantra of ‘you’re a long time retired’ so have always sought to look to extend any opportunity of playing sport. But right now there is half a season left and no desire to commit to it in the manner I would normally expect. Though I am not one to quit halfway through a job, so the games will be competed, but whether the mindset is right for them remains to be seen.
The motivation to travel on a weeknight and face off against old foes is waning. A more sedentary life is looking more appealing, but that’s a slippery slope to begin down. Easing out of a sporting lifestyle will impact on the normal lifestyle led. I’ll no longer be able to kid myself that it’s fine to have treats in the diet because I know there’s at least two hours of high intensity sport being played each week. Add into that the convenience the activity provides to catch-up with friends, and it’s a perilous double of an increased waistline and withdrawn friendship opportunities that comes to the fore. Neither of which are conducive to the reality I wish for.
It’s time to remember – You’re a long time retired…
What Next? 