by Jolynn McFerren
Oddly enough, one of my resolutions for this year was to eliminate the word “busy” from my vocabulary. “How are you?” and she responds, “Busy! How are you?” Yeah, yeah, yeah, we are all BUSY. Tell me something real. Let me tell you something real versus responding with this one, sad, common word that has become our habitual response.
I was doing well with my resolution. Giving up the word gave me permission to give up some of what goes along with that word! I was feeling the benefits. Now I’m doing REALLY well with my resolution. A forced shut down of sorts.
In our yoga teacher training program, we require our students to make a silent retreat. Twelve hours of silence and not “doing”—just “being.” No music, no phone, no speaking, no interactions, no preparation of meals (all done prior to the retreat). Walking, yoga, meditation, journaling, reading all permitted. The sounds of nature—permitted and encouraged as part of the experience. Because we are all so used to being “busy”, this sounds fairly scary to most of us. When given PERMISSION—an assignment to be silent, still, open, listening–the twelve hours becomes a blessing in disguise.
Perhaps you too have now been forced to let go of the word “busy” and perhaps you too can take advantage of this time. Listen to the messages the universe, nature, and the divine are offering. Start with 5 minutes of silence in the morning and 5 minutes in the evening. Close your eyes and notice how busy the mind becomes and perhaps, in time, you will notice your mind and physical body let go of that word too.