“Quiet the mind, and the soul will speak”.
― Ma Jaya Sati Bhagavati,
I have always had a problem with sitting long enough to clear my mind and meditate. Actually I should say my monkey mind has a problem sitting still for very long, always jumping from thought to thought and chattering incessantly.
Over the years I have tried to sit and let my thoughts ebb and flow like a river, which they do for about 30 seconds and then the monkey mind begins. So I gave up, threw in my meditation cushion and called it quits!
Then I learned to drive the tractor and a whole different world opened up for me.
A world where doing this one task allows me to open my mind and let my thoughts move along with the rhythm of the tractor tires. Mowing the pastures while being surrounded by nature allows my mind to find the freedom it needs from the constant multi-tasking patterns. I am able to look at things from a more Zen perspective and let my thoughts just flow.
Walking is another way to allow my thoughts to expand. Each morning as I walk the dog my mind is observing nature and taking in the beauty of the moment. I can choose to just let my thoughts flow or allow my mind to go through its own agenda, finding the peace I’m seeking or the solution to a problem.
We all have that one thing in our daily lives that allow our minds to be present and focused. Tasks as simple as washing dishes, folding clothes, walking the dog or mowing a pasture can stop the monkey mind from its continuous chattering and usher in a sense of calm.
Meditation can be defined differently from person to person but for me it’s being in a state of mind where I can either close out the world and be with my tractor and nature or open my mind to work with a problem or dilemma that requires my focus.
What about you? Can you find that one thing that allows you to open your mind and just be?
Pay attention during your daily routine to what brings you the most calm and allows you to be present. Enjoy the beauty of what that one task or simple thing in your routine does for your mind. Then begin to find more things that do the same. Look at your daily life differently knowing that each thing you do can bring your mind into focus and will allow the monkey to sit in calm repose.
I would love to hear your comments on what you have found in your daily life that allows your mind to be at peace.
For me, I’m off to mow more pastures.
photo credit: Old Shoe Woman via photo pin cc
Great post, thank you.
It’s so good to read that I am not the only one who finds it hard to quieten my mind.
Within a minute or so of sitting down, thoughts come hammering into my mind that demand instant attention – trying to draw my mind away from stillness – and trying to get me moving, thinking, doing anything but sitting still in awareness.
Perhaps we have an innate fear that if we quieten our mind and look inside we will find there is nothing much to look at 😉
But I think it’s more to do with the fact that we are so unused to not doing anything but being aware that our minds struggle to deal with it.
And I’m so glad you bought our attention to the fact that focus and awareness does not necessarily only belong to us when we are sitting down with closed eyes and crossed legs – but awareness and focus can be obtained in a traffic jam, or while in a queue, or walking alone, or performing mundane tasks.
Thank you.
Thank you Angie for seeing the beauty in this post! Welcome to our Community! It’s so nice to have you here and thank you for sharing your wonderful insights. I think most of us struggle with quieting our minds and just give up, ignoring the simplicity of our every day tasks and how they can bring about that peace.