It is that week of the year between Christmas and New Year when one lot of festivities is over and yet it is not quite time for New Year resolutions. This is a good time to pause. Some people, such as our healthcare and social care workers don’t have the luxury to stop working. Those in the leisure and retail industry are also pressured to keep going so that they don’t fall behind their competitors. People caring for young children and elderly relatives may well also struggle to have a break. Those of us who have the luxury of time off from our usual routines should start with a prayer of graditude and acknowledgement that this cannot be taken for granted. As a doctor, I spent many years working most of this week and am grateful that now I can have this time with my family and my thoughts.
Pressing the pause button is not something that I am good at doing. I admit to being a very driven person, always wanting to be busy with something; learning new skills; working with my hands; helping others. It feels unproductive to not be doing something and hard not to feel guilty about doing nothing. Yet if we look to nature in mid winter, we see plants standing dormant, stripped of their leaves. We know that many animals are hibernating, deep in sleep until days grow longer and warmer again. Maybe we should also be slowing down. We are after all called human beings, not human doings.
How can I just be? My immediate thought is to go into reflection mode; make a list of all I have done in the last year and think about what went well, what went badly and what I should change going forwards. But again, this is “doing”, not being. There is definitely a place for reflection in our lives, but maybe not in the season of “pause”.
How about mindfulness? Tuning into our surroundings and how our body is feeling. This eliminates or slows down our thoughts which are forever going off in all sorts of tangents; full of concerns, anticipation, planning etc. Concentrating on our breaths in and out, the feeling of pressure in our feet on the floor, the sight of the wind blowing plants around in the garden can help bring us into the present and closer to pausing.
You don’t need to be sitting or lying down to pause. I enjoy going for a walk and letting my legs go into auto-pilot. I can walk in a mindful state. In addition, I like to be out in the countryside breathing in fresh air, listening to birdsong. Swimming is also good for mindfulness as I concentrate on my strokes and when to breath. Others might enjoy running.
The Biblical View
In the gospel of Luke Chapter 10:38-42, we read about Martha scolding her sister who was sitting with Jesus rather than being busy helping with food preparation. Jesus defended Martha, telling Mary that she was worrying over things that were not needed and that Martha had the right priorities at that time.
So I shall continue to work on the practice of pausing. I can push away any feelings of guilt and embrace the chance to rest, hopefully emerging refreshed and renewed, ready for the new year!
