UNPLUGGING FROM CHAOS

Life is so busy and moving so quickly.  From the moment I gain consciousness in the morning I am bombarded with input from outside sources.  Voicemail, email, IMs, news shows, Facebook, Twitter, friends, family, work all clamoring for my immediate attention.  It is very difficult to block out all the noise and find enough stillness to hear the voice inside me.  The voice that informs me of what it is I need, what I feel; the voice that affirms I am a human being and not a human doing.  When I move too quickly or respond out of habit instead of choice, I lose my center and grounded-ness.  Suddenly, outside forces control my attention, I’m swept up in the momentum of anxiety and I find myself lost in the midst of others’ needs, thoughts, and problems.  In the end I become resentful, inpatient, unhappy, and over time depressed.

Today, I choose to give myself permission to slow down and take time to breathe and be still.  I will listen to my own feelings and needs and savor the quiet.  Very little in this day is an emergency, I can choose to move at my own pace and stay in my own process.  Things will still get done: emails sent, calls returned, people attended to, work done.  I want to remember to unplug from the rushing flow of outside noise for short times throughout this day and remember to breathe and just be.