"It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eting a home-grown tomato"
Lewis Grizzard
One of the biggest challenges in our modern life is to make our way through our life in a way that feels calm and joyful. Too often I find myself saying yes to so many things that sound interesting, helpful, neccessary even. But eventually these too many things build up and I feel crazy inside myself. No room to breathe inside myself, feeling trapped and controlled. I then turn into some sort of manic control freak in response to these feelings of overwhelm. When I look around I see that this overwhelm has become an ordinary way of living and completely acceptable in our society. This is in despite of the adds for yoga retreats and the quiet of running shoes on the pavement. Advertising reflect our longings and then distorts them into the longing for the products which will achieve this inner calm for us.
So how to stop the world and get off and stay on it at the same time? The earth seems a beautiful place to begin. I had the pleasure of a friend coming to tea and we sat out on the grass sipping hot water and lemon in the sunshine. Warmth on my skin, the coolness of the grass beneath my feet, the smell of the salty air and a fresh breeze blowing through the trees, all conducive to feelings of calm and joy. Much laughter bubbled, it's really hard to feel anxious or that things need to be done. What is required is friends to support these circumstances, that know you don't need to be buisy to have a full life and to encourage us to fill our lives with small time fun.
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