I have also chosen, and it was a choice, to have large chunks of time with no activities at all. Time for meditation or just being. Time to listen to the birds, to feel, to see, to hear.
I try to stay in the feeling of non-activity while I’m busy. I get a lot of practice now when the preparations for our move are flooding my to do list.
How to stay still in the middle of chaos? During my time in stillness I learned something important. I learned that you don’t really have to put in that much effort to accomplish things. I saw that I had done too much earlier in life.
I discovered that if I waited and only acted when it was time to act I saved myself a lot of trouble.
I use that insight all the time. I wait. If I need information before I speak to someone I wait until I have that information. I do things when they are ready to be done.
I also carry the stillness with me into the whirlwind of activity. It’s enough to just breathe. I take a conscious breath and the stillness is right there. I take time to look at people and to connect with them
In this way I get much more done and I never have to stress. I learned that I control time. Time doesn’t control me.
So in the middle of it all I breathe, see, feel. I do the essential. Some things I leave for the next day. I don’t have to do it all. I don’t have to be perfect. What a relief!
So I take my dog out for a walk. I watch her and enjoy her. Here she is in the middle of a hunting game! Look at the focus, the intention, the JOY. So much to learn from animals!