Peace and Solitude

"Inside of yourselves, you shouldn't be running all the time...

protect the spirit from ambushes of busyness and schedules."

                                                                                                                     - Thomas Merton

"The first step in making some sort of change, however small and undramatic, must come from the conviction that prayer, silence and solitude are the most important priorities in my life. I need to decide how I can give them the attention, the time and space that they deserve."

"...above all I need to decide how I can hold together my life of stillness and prayer, the contemplative side of myself with the (side) who is committed to the demands of a busy active life." 

"...In which direction shall I go? Merton knew that peace in the world can only exist if each of us is at peace in the core of our being." - Esther de Waal, "A Seven Day Journey with Thomas Merton"

What is this "solitude" that Merton believes is one of the most important priorities in his life? Here's how Psychology Today defines solitude:

"Solitude is a state of being alone without being lonely. It is a positive and constructive state of engagement with oneself. Solitude is desirable, a state of being alone where you provide yourself wonderful and sufficient company.

Solitude is a time that can be used for reflection, inner searching or growth or enjoyment of some kind. Deep reading requires solitude, so does experiencing the beauty of nature. Thinking and creativity usually do too.

Solitude suggests peacefulness stemming from a state of inner richness. It is a means of enjoying the quiet and whatever it brings that is satisfying and from which we draw sustenance. It is something we cultivate. Solitude is refreshing; an opportunity to renew ourselves. In other words, it replenishes us..."

There are many paths to solitude. It's such a personal journey. Maybe you find it in prayer and meditation or during your morning walk. Maybe it's when you listen to music, garden or draw. Whatever it is, it needs to be given priority.

"..protect the spirit from ambushes of busyness and schedules", I love this line. It always comes back to slowing down. Slowing down the chatter in our minds. Slowing down to breathe deeply. Slowing down to be fully in the moment. Slowing down to see the gifts each day brings. Slowing down to listen. Slowing down and relaxing the tension in our bodies. Slowing down and being fully present with the people we encounter each day. Slowing down to enjoy the solitude and refresh the spirit.

The Dalai Lama says, "World peace must develop from inner peace. Inner peace is the key." 

And from Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace:

"In our daily life we can smile, if we can be peaceful and happy, not only we, but everyone will profit from it. This is the most basic kind of peace work."

"From time to time, to remind ourselves to relax and be peaceful, we may wish to set aside some time for a retreat, a day of mindfulness, when we can walk slowly, smile, drink tea with a friend, enjoy being together as if we are the happiest people on Earth."

"Breathing in, I calm body and mind. Breathing out, I smile. Dwelling in the present moment I know this is the only moment."

"Go in peace."





  

Flow!

This morning's temp was minus 8!!!! I think, to make it up to me the sun is shining ever so brightly today. Bene, Luce and I are curled up on the sofa with our afghans and pillows and the sun beating down on us. I close my eyes and see lovely color inside my closed eyelids; brilliant red, orange and yellow! Inhaling this clean air, so crisp, so fresh, I picture it cleaning my lungs. I breathe more deeply and slowly.  I slowly and fully exhale and create a rhythm with my breath. I feel the sun so warm.  Oh, happy day!

Two days ago I signed up for Sketchbook Skool on line. Oh, boy! What a treat!! It's a 6 week course with a different teacher each week. I'm hoping that this will help me get into the habit of creating art on a daily basis. Just grabbing my sketchbook and doing a quick sketch each day, if nothing else. 

My teacher this week is Danny. His video was touching and inspiring. He shares a little about his personal life experience and his philosophy on art. We get to watch him sketch in his illustrated journal. He has stacks of  illustrated journals with daily entries which he has kept for years. Students  can download notes from each class and watch the videos over and over. We are encouraged to share our work, participate in discussions and leave comments for each other. The atmosphere is very supportive and encouraging. 

It's fun and also challenging for me. I want to let go of perfectionism and the fear that I can't do it and the  self judgements that it's not good and SIMPLY ENJOY the process! If you want to learn to draw, you have to DRAW! We're drawing in INK!! Yikes! I've never done this. Pencils with erasers are so forgiving. Danny tells us that we are all imperfect filters and we are not aiming for drawing a perfect likeness of what we see, but rather what we see through our personal filter, our view of the things we see. I LOVE this!! It takes the pressure off. I have permission to relax and sketch.

So far I've only done one sketch in the class that I'm happy with. It's a quick sketch of Luce and it's unfinished, but it's a start. I'm working to overcome my fear of drawing in ink! Let go of my harsh critic and the voice that says I can't do this! I want to get into the FLOW!!! 

I love the word FLOW! I looked it up just now on Wikipedia and here's what I found;

In positive psychology, flow, also known as zone, is the mental state of operation in which a person performing an activity is fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of the activity. In essence, flow is characterized by complete absorption in what one does... Flow is completely focused motivation. It is a single-minded immersion and represents perhaps the ultimate experience in harnessing the emotions in the service of performing and learning. In flow, the emotions are not just contained and channeled, but positive, energized, and aligned with the task at hand. The hallmark of flow is a feeling of spontaneous joy, even rapture, while performing a task...

Flow is what I want more of in my life. I want to get lost in writing,  sketching,  painting,  books, nature, bird-watching, knitting, dancing, walking, maybe even cooking and baking!!! 

I think that meditation is a way toward FLOW and FLOW IS MEDITATION.

me and sweet Bene B