It’s not in the doing

Hello friends,

Tiredness, exhaustion seems like part of our modern way of living.

So much of our lives can be filled with busyness, chores, and things to do.

We  can either feel victim to this cycle of doing, or see it from another perspective and create some small changes to bring in more fulfilling “doings” into our lives and be less overwhelmed and tired.

It’s not the busyness of doing that feels exhausting

It’s about WHAT you are doing and HOW

It starts with …

AWARENESS

And then that brings us to a question of who is it that is aware? Where does this awareness come from?

I love this question. Why? Because it connects me to a source of divine intelligence and oneness and reminds me that I am not a  separate thing floating in space on this planet in a vast universe.

The answer can’t be worked out in the mind either.  It simply hasn’t the capacity to understand the mystery and the oneness. Mind lives in time and in the belief of separation. And its job is to help us navigate the 3D world of duality. And thank goodness for that. But we’re not meant to get lost in it and forget our true nature, and who and what we are beyond this physicality.

Yoga helps us come home to the truth of who we are. 

I especially love YIN yoga. The  stillness, the stretch, the being with what IS within every moment.

Getting back to the theme of doing, busyness, and feeling tired.

Doing yoga doesn’t tire. Rather, it fills one up. It can feel energizing and relaxing at the same time.

What can make us tired, if not exhausted, is not the many things we do in day to day life that upon examination we can do something about.

It’s not the doing itself that makes us tired and weary,  but WHAT we are doing and HOW.

START

Today, write done things you love doing because it fills you up and energizes your being. Even if you’re not currently doing those things.

Begin to prioritize a few of those things into your life. 

Look at all the things you do but don’t like doing. 

And with the understanding that perhaps it’s necessary to do them. Practice mindfulness when doing things that need doing. Having a focused peaceful mind when getting things done can be a world of difference to one where the mind is nattering on in a more or less negative way. Bring your presence to the task at hand. It does take practice but you CAN keep coming back to the task at hand, breathe with awareness and become more present. 

In addition to this, it's been my experience that there are always some things that take up my time that perhaps I needn’t focus on doing. I can cross them off and replace them with things that I know will feel nourishing and  fill me up. 

I encourage you to witness and watch the mind’s excuses around doing things you love to do, or telling you you can do them AFTER you do the other things, especially if it doesn’t have an obvious purpose, such as making money, or leading you to something like a career. 

I invite you to practice watching  thoughts that meander through the mind creating  a reality that you believe in, when the truth is, thoughts are only thoughts. 

In meditation, I often ask myself what’s there that is NOT a thought. It short circuits the mind and sometimes it can bring me to a place of deep stillness, and sense of wholeness. Like nothing needs to change at that moment.

INVITATION

• Make a list of the things you are currently doing on a regular basis
• See what can be crossed off and replaced with things you LOVE doing, even if it seems extravagant or superfluous.

Finding a balanced way to live where you do things you need to do mixed with things you don’t HAVE to do but in doing them with presence and clear mind, you feel light, whole, energized in the doing of them.

Of course it goes without saying, REST is essential for balance in Doing and Being. 

Let me know how you go and if you feel less overwhelmed, less tired by bringing in more awareness and mindfulness to you daily doings.