And I really do mean a second – well perhaps just a few.
We often don’t realise when we are becoming drained.
We take on too much in an effort to ‘get everything done’. We also want to fit in all of the things that we enjoy and make us happy. This can lead us down a spiral of exhaustion.
Apart from when we are asleep we rarely take the time to truly rest. By rest I don’t mean mindlessly watching back-to-back series. I mean actually finding a moment of stillness.
For a lot of us stillness can be uncomfortable. It makes us feel restless, edgy, think about all the things we have to do or could be doing. When was the last time you spend a moment being still? Try it now for a few seconds, what do you notice?
Stillness however is crucial to our wellbeing. In stillness we discover what we need.
We take a moment to listen to our bodies and minds and find out how to nourish ourselves.
When we nourish ourselves we become much better at creating the lives we want. To take care of our loved ones, to get things done that are truly important, to focus and prioritise, to do the things we actually enjoy and not just the things we think we will enjoy.
We stop the negative spiral and turn it into a positive one.
Meditating is a fantastic way of sitting in stillness.
However it is also possible to achieve the great benefit that we get from stillness from just taking an extra moment throughout the day.
This can really and truly just be a few seconds. My latest favourite is to enjoy the moments when the traffic lights turn red. Look at the colours in the lights, listen to the sounds around me. Why don't you try your own?