Can you let your mind wander?
Let your mind wander this summer!
Did you ever lay in the grass and stare at the clouds as a kid?
What did you dream?
What did you wonder?
Where did your imagination take you?
Earlier this week, I found myself staring out of my office window at some giant puffy clouds. The sky was a spectacular shade of blue and the clouds were sparkling white. Gorgeous.
I thought to myself, "those are some Grade A daydreaming clouds," and then went back to work.
But, my eye kept being drawn to the window...so, I went outside.
I stood on the deck looking up.
Then, I sat down for a minute.
And finally, I threw a pillow on the grass and laid down.
Why do we hesitate to let our mind wander, to let the questions come, to simply sit with our thoughts?
Seriously?! What was my hesitation? 10-year-old Stephanie would have plopped down on the grass and stared at the sky until the sun burned her eyeballs.
But, oh...this drive to be "productive"... it's a strong one. I'm realizing that no matter how much work I think I've done to root this out, I still have work to do. In my life's journey, it's been an ever-present drumbeat that Productivity = Worth.
It doesn't. It really doesn't.
I know it to be true in my own life. And yet...
I can still get sucked into the idea that I need to be doing, instead of being, to be worthy.
Worthy of promotion, worthy of listening to, worthy of friendship, worthy of love.
That's a load of crap. I know it -- and you know it too. (Don't even get me started on the construct of patriarchal systems that are designed to keep this thought at the forefront.)
So, friend, we are almost at the halfway mark of summertime...
have you spent this summer DOING or BEING?
Until I realized how long it took me to throw that dang pillow on the ground, I would have said I was doing a pretty good job at Being...but it's obviously still a journey. Maybe you are on it too.
So, let's do it together! Plop yourself down in front of your favorite landscape...the beach, the mountains, your backyard, your front porch...find someplace that brings you peace.
And, just let your mind wander.
Ok, I can hear your brain chatter, "Wander? Wander to what?", "What if I just think about work?", "How do I start?", "Who has time for that?". This is a practice. It takes time, patience, and grace.
If you'd like some prompts to get you started wandering (or journaling), here are a few I'd offer:
What would 10-year-old me think about my life right now?
Am I willing to sit with what is uncomfortable?
What am I grateful for?
How am I feeling at this moment?
Why? (Yes, just why. Pick a topic!)
You don't have to do anything to be worthy of what you want in life. You really don't. And, just imagine what you will create when you just allow yourself to wander for a while...