Thank you for joining me on this journey that will more than likely have me taking the better part of three years to complete. I am taking a journey of sharing the coolest 1000 ideas that I come across here. They won’t be everyday. I won’t be using the same media to post. They won’t always align with current states of the world. I think that they might even be better if they’re just random things. Welcome to the journey.
Today’s idea is the power of the pause. How often do we truly just take a time out? A complete time out? Chances are maybe for a few seconds if even that. Escaping the gravity of our lives always on the move, always connected has had a crazy impact on our lives. Most of the time, a unhealthy one.
I believe very strongly at taking a complete break from the day around us. A complete tune out. No matter what form it takes. Hitting the pause button has been scientifically proven to reduce stress and improve our health. All around a incredible habit to form as a daily ritual.
This idea to hit the pause button wasn’t something that I just came up with. This practice has been part of humankind’s history since the beginning of our time. I find the power of accepting the silence you get when you pause, black out for a moment everything else, is rejuvenating.
How we accomplish what seems impossible for even five minutes, that’s each of our challenges. You can do it at any time of the day. I prefer the morning and then again at the end of the day. It will take some discipline, some practice, and avoiding some things that pull us into them because those things want our attention more we feel. Like our technology. The velocity needed to escape the gravity they place on us to always be checking in consumes 25% or more of our waking hours.
Here’s some hows to try and get started on your pause time:
- Set a 5 minute timer, for the duration of which all electronics will be in “airplane” mode. Yes, the timer still works with out internet on.
- Just breath, take inventory of what brought you here to start trying this. Use your natural senses to connect with what’s around you. All of them!
- Bring your favorite snack or drink with you to the pause. You’re going to rediscover why it’s your favorite. You’re going to remember why it tastes so good. Because you will only be doing this one thing, your senses will be focused on just this moment. Then you’re going to remind yourself why this experience was important enough to gain the favorite status it had so long ago.
- Take an outdoor bath. The Japanese call it “forest bathing” in which you completely immerse yourself in the forest on a walk. Again, using all your senses to feel the walk as you walk around. Smell. Sight. Hearing. Yes, taste even. Ever tasted the rain?
- Take in for your pause a sunrise or sunset. Did you know that you will never see the same sunrise or sunset more than once? Yeah, neither did I, because I never paused long enough to notice. How many do you think you would miss if you knew in two weeks you’d lose your eye sight forever?
Those are some of the hows that I have found you can start with for your power pause. 5 minutes, then raise the time from there. It only works as long as you choose to completely disconnect. You will begin to find in your non-pause moments, awareness you never had before. You will find a peace you thought was long impossible to ever get back again because you just didn’t have time to. You will begin to question your priorities for good reasons.
Something to read to get you interested:
That awareness to be present in the moment, is an incredible power to have. You will miss less in the stillness of it. Good luck. Feel free to drop in on the comments below with your story. After a 30 day challenge come back to let me know how it worked out. Just 5 minutes each day. Remember again. Possibly even find yourself.
✌🏻 Shawn
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