Spring Renewal

Photography by William Walther
WjW Photography

“Like too many of us, I mistook a busy life for a rich one.” ~ Anne D. LeClaire
 
Five years ago I read the book Listening Below the Noise: A Meditation on the Practice of Silence by Anne D. LeClaire and it impacted me greatly because she took time to be silent and go within.  At that time, I was recently retired and realizing that I still had a very busy life.  Even though I was retired and thought I would have to time to do everything I wanted, I quickly realized that I was busy running from one activity to the next.  Sound familiar?  I was just as busy, if not busier than when I worked full time and I realized it was not the ideal situation for a balanced life.
I tried taking a day of silence and I really enjoyed it and realized I wanted more.  So, for the past 4 years I have taken the month of April off to be my month to get grounded, go slower, spend more time in silence, connect to nature and focus on answering the questions who I am and what do I want.  I don’t schedule any activities during the day – no yoga classes, no art classes, no lunches with friends, no meetings, no doctor’s appointments, no gatherings with friends, etc. I still do things in the evening and on the weekends with my husband, but I have the days to go within.
The first year I did this it was novel to my friends and family and I am not even sure they understood.  But, now that I am doing this for the fifth year, everyone seems to know and doesn’t even try to schedule anything with me during the month of April. It seems to take me a week to decompress and mindfully accomplish the things on my to do list and then for the next 3 weeks I focus on getting centered, being creative, reading spiritually, and cleansing my body, mind and spirit. After the month, I am rejuvenated and ready to tackle the world again from a calmer and more peaceful mindset.
My plan is to share what I am doing in my upcoming blog entries.  You may not be as fortunate as I am to take a month to do this, but maybe you can find a week, weekend, day or afternoon for yourself.  I am not taking a time out from life, but I am making time to go within and find what matters most to me and what I want in life from a place of peace.

How busy is your life? Is it a rich life?
 
When can you find some quiet time to go within and listen to your true desires?

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