Taking Time
Congratulations! If you’re reading this article, you still have a computer, you’re not panhandling on the street, and more than likely, you will eat at least one meal today. Somehow, in spite of Bernard Madoff, Goldman Sachs, Washington Mutual, AIG, all the doom and gloom, all the betrayals and disappointments, we’re still checking email, still wearing clothes and still able to greet the morning sun. Yet we still sometimes succumb to the sense that we don’t have enough, that we’ll never catch up, that the rat race has gotten faster and the rats are winning.
In those moments when it seems there’s no time and everything is overwhelming, I’d like to offer a paradoxical suggestion: take a moment to do nothing. There only seems to be no time when I’m rushing towards the future. When I’m in the present moment, time doesn’t exist. Many people struggle with the idea of “doing nothing.” It seems against everything America stands for. But as someone recently pointed out to me, they don’t call us human “doings” they call us human “beings.”
There’s a Zen saying, “Don’t just do something, sit there!” However, if just sitting there gives you the heebie jeebies, here’s a short exploration that can help remind you to be grateful for the present moment.
Sit comfortably in a chair and slowly bring your palms together in front of your chest. Barely touch them and then separate them slowly a few times. Feel how sensitive your fingers become. Now bring them together so that everything has a solid contact. Begin raising your hands, still palm to palm, toward the ceiling and back down in front of your chest. Notice your breath. Where do your eyes go? Your head? Repeat this several times, taking in whatever information comes up. Then rest.
Once again bring your palms together. This time as you raise your hands and arms, raise your head and eyes. As your hands return, bring your head and eyes to neutral. Does this feel any different? Is this what you were doing before? What do you feel in your face? In your belly? Rest.
After resting, try the same thing, but this time, each time you raise your hands up, lower your head and eyes. Feel what happens to your back. Are there any images that come up for you? Rest again.
If you wish, you can repeat this, alternating the direction of your head. Allow yourself to exhale each time you raise your arms. Feel how this movement of the arms is connected to your back and chest.
Any time you feel insecure or lacking, take a moment to pause with your hands in front of your chest. When you are about to go into a meeting, need to make that call, are afraid you will be inadequate, take a moment. When things are too pressing, or you’re crunched for time, place your hands together and do a few of these movements, sensing your breath. You can do it full out, or use very tiny movements – it’s not the size of the movement, but the attention paid to the movement that counts. As the movement centers you, perhaps gratitude will replace the feeling of lack that inhibits your possibility.
