“Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits”
Ever heard of “ME Time”? Ever used “ME Time”? Scheduled it into your week or day? This is not time at the gym, or walking the dog, or taking a long shower, this is time where all you do is SIT.
A girl friend and I went out to another friend's house to help feed and water and run the dogs. I love dogs, so this wasn't a hardship case for me at all. I took the puppies and she took the older dogs..she can walk faster than I. It took us about an hour early in the evening to feed and water and walk, 25 or so pups and dogs. But it was pleasurable, messy and loud. After we were done, we sat on the porch, a puppy in our lap who just needed some human touch. We didn't say much, I don't think we said anything. We just sat. For the first time in a long time, I just sat. No thinking, no worrying, no rushing to remember what else had to be done, I just sat.
That, ½ hour of seemingly nothingness was the best 30 minutes I spent all week. When it was time to put the pups back with mom, and lock up the kennels, we both had a different site of things. We were calmer, our faces had fewer lines, and we walked just little more briskly than when we arrived.
So how often do you just sits? If you're me, not enough. So your assignment for this long “labor day” Weekend is to just sits...do nothing, don't jot anything down, don't read, don't think, just sits. It's not as easy as it looks or sounds. Clear your mind of everything, and just sits.
Practice this for the weekend, and then see if your step isn't livelier, your voice less shrill, your soul more cleansed. You may need a puppy to help, but that's okay, teddy bears work too. But for now, just sits.
Summer Challenge Goals:
1. Get out of the house and in the pool four days a week. 2. Schedule meals a week at a time. 3. five fruits and vegetables a day, along with water.
Posts: 3435 | Location: Central USA | Registered: March 11, 2004
Unlike most of you, I live alone, so there are many opportunities for me to "just sits." However, I too often have on the TV or am on the PC and I don't take as much time as I could/should to just sit and think.
That's what I use my walks for, though. They are usually about an hour to an hour and a quarter and I have a lot of trees and squirrels and birds for company (and some people too, occasionally).
I take a few moments at bedtime to be grateful for what I already have and to repeat my affirmations for success and abundance in what I want.
Summer Se7en Challenge Goals: 1. Add back core & toning work + weight work 1X each per week to start. 2. Tackle the Sugar Monster--Have a sugar free mint after lunch and dinner, wait 20 minutes, and reassess the need for a sweet treat.
Posts: 7161 | Location: Rehoboth Beach, DE | Registered: March 12, 2004
I don't usually sit and do nothing. My "me" time is usually spent alone at a coffee shop, nursing a latte and writing or reading. If I ever sit around for half an hour doing nothing, chances are I'll fall asleep.
****************** “The older you get, the tougher it is to lose weight because by then, your body and your fat are really good friends.”
"Me" time is required if I'm going to be fully functional. Things I like to do include watching the Discovery or Learning or History channels, especially when it's something pretty and calming on the screen---no, really, just *watching*, without the sound. I like to read, and I like to find out more about things I learn at work about different parts of the world and their cultures.
Cooking is usually "me" time, too. It's relaxing most of the time. My showers are off-limits most of the time, too (as in, the boyfriend knows not to holler, "Hey, where's the <random spice>?" to me when I'm showering).
The dog & I spend some quality time together three times a week when I Furminate (groom) her. That's always outdoors.
And, I like to do puzzles on the computer. No one bothers me, no one's talking, it's just me and my brain. There are a few television shows I make appointments with, and while I'm watching, I won't do the other things I usually do in front of the TV (grocery list, newspaper/magazine/book reading, menu planning, work stuff).
Oh...and I get 15 minutes to and from work every day to walk alone and see just how pretty the place I work and live is. That's definite recharging time--even though I'm not sitting, I'm usually not worrying or thinking about "stuff", either.
Challenge Goals: *10 minutes of unplanned exercise five times a week *Gym time twice a week *Socialize at least once every two weeks.
What I have considered me time has either been on the porch trying to read or upstairs in the bedroom reading or watching TV.
I have noticed that recently reading on the porch, on the very hot and humid nights we've been having, has been very difficult. Why? The serenading cicadas! I can't "hear" what I'm reading. The cicadas are harmonizing with the fan in our dining room window and the neighbor's air conditioning unit.
And now, thank you, Cathy. I've been trying to figure out how to put those ideas into a poem. I think I've got it!
Just sitting is (and always has been) very hard for me. Especially when I know I have 2000 other things to do. (My school books holler accusingly at me every moment I am home and doing anything else.)
Yesterday, I went out and jogged through my neighborhood. I didn't really think about anything, I really only listened to my mp3 player for a beat to jog to. But I really, really enjoyed just being outside and not really thinking about much.
I need to build some me time (other than exercise or meals into my schedule each day). Otherwise, I'll be a mess by the end of the semester.
Life is like a roller coaster, with lots of ups and downs, but the curves, spirals, loops and corkscrews are what make life interesting.
In the winter I love to run a tub of hot water and "just sits" . It is very relaxing. Other times I "just sits" indian style on the bed and listen to music.
1. do 4 laps on walking track without "resting" 2. do 1 mile (17laps) in 20 minutes (3miles per hour)
Posts: 3887 | Location: NE Atlanta (Chamblee, Doraville, Norcross, Duluth) | Registered: March 15, 2004
. It is very relaxing. 
