The cure for holiday [or non-holiday] overwhelm.
I recently watched Brené Brown's Atlas of the Heart for the 2nd time.
In the second episode, Brené shares Jon Kabat-Zinn's description of overwhelm.
He describes it as the all-too-common feeling "that our lives are somehow unfolding faster than the human nervous system and psyche are able to manage well."
Doesn't it feel like life unfolds even faster during the holiday season?
Jon Kabat-Zinn's cure for overwhelm...
Nothingness.
During this holiday season, I hope you can carve out pockets of time and space for absolute nothingness.
Not multi-tasking a bunch of To Do's.
Not striving to be as productive as possible.
Not being dragged by the "shoulds" or the "not enoughs."
I'm talking about time to just BE.
To look out the window to see which birds fly by (if it isn't too cold where you are!).
To light your favorite candle and watch the flame flicker.
To take a cozy nap in the middle of the day.
To soak in the tub.
How do I know that nothingness helps?
I was in need of some major nothingness and made a visit to my favorite hot springs (Ojo Caliente, near Taos, New Mexico) last week before visiting my family in Colorado.
The view from the "Mud Pool" at Ojo Caliente.
My partner and I soaked in the natural high desert hot springs and took in the pure nothingness with each of our five senses.
A peek of the magical view (do you see the luminaries on the building?)
And my oh my, that stillness was exactly what I needed.
On our drive from the hot springs to Durango, Colorado (my hometown), we stopped for lunch in Abiquiu, New Mexico.
We got out of the car and saw a gorgeous steel sculpture.
I first noticed the colorful part of the sculpture and the glass pieces hanging from its middle, almost like a wind chime (pic below).
As I got closer, I noticed something else.
The word "PAUSE" in all-cap gold letters welded into the bottom of the sculpture.
I laughed out loud at the serendipitous timing of this message. What a sign!
The "Pause" sculpture by Martin Helldorfer near Abiquiu Inn, New Mexico.
The note from the artist, Martin Helldorfer, says:
For years, colleagues, friends and family have advised me to slow down.
In the workaday world I've been encouraged to hurry.
I want neither.
Rather I want to live reflectively.
This sculpture is about pausing... depending on how slowly or frenetically we may live.
Said another way it is about having a thoughtfulness about ourselves.
I have tried to create a sculpture that invites the passerby to reflect... whatever their chosen speed.
I do not want to be didactic beyond that paused moment.
I love that line: "a thoughtfulness about ourselves."
I'm wishing you the most thoughtful pauses and nourishing pockets of nothingness this holiday season.
More pauses and nothingness = more presence with the ones we love.
With love and gratitude,
Stacy
P.S. After being back at Ojo Caliente, I realized how much I'd love to host a women's retreat there. One with plenty of time for nothingness and pausing. Comment below if you're keen on the idea!
