Miles above the earth, flying around 600 mph is where I recently found the insight and inspiration to BE STILL. I was sitting in the middle seat on our flight home from Washington DC. Danny and I had enjoyed the most wonderful time. I was anxious to get home, hug our girls, check on Mozart and dig into the crazy schedule of the coming week. My book was boring me so I turned to the monitor in front of my seat. After a few games of Solitaire (and frankly not playing very well) I continued to browse the monitor. I found TEDtalks, which almost always interest me. I sat in my seat and listened to THIS talk.
“So, in an age of acceleration, nothing can be more exhilarating than going slow. And in an age of distraction, nothing is so luxurious as paying attention. And in an age of constant movement, nothing is so urgent as sitting still.” -Pico Iyer
I have recognized the value of stillness many many times…a heart of peace after attending the temple, a clear head after a yoga session, prayer, enjoying a quiet walk. One of the stillness ideas that inspired him was an Internet Sabbath- a full day completely unplugging from electronic devices. As I listened to him, I was re-energized in taking stillness seriously. Lately I have felt distracted and busy, feeling like my wheels were spinning at maximum speed, yet I was staying still. In seat 40F I made some quick decisions to put this into practice in my life and not just recognize it as a good idea. Some ideas I want to experiment with—
Internet Sabbath- I will turn off electronic devices on Sunday, my family is already with me and it is the weekday I already enjoy recognizing as the Sabbath.
Device schedule-
wake up-until kids leave for school…leave devices alone and use cell phone on a need basis (no internet browsing)
3:00 p.m. (when the girls get home) and later just use my cell phone as needed (texting, communication, etc…)
9:00 p.m. turn my devices (iPad and phone) in for the night. If my phone rings or a text dings attend to it…but other than that leave it alone (aka don’t waste an hour browsing Instagram, Facebook, Pintrest, etc…)
update: Danny loved the talk but the other girls weren’t sure if they understood it. They did come up with an idea after we discussed the talk…
Danny- spend more quiet time while driving, find time to step away from his phone
Ellie- create alone time every day
Kate- spend time in the backyard every day
Sophie- spend time reading