Happy October everyone! It’s been almost a year since I paused my weekly posts. I’ve done a lot of work within myself in the last year to make sure that when I’m creating, sharing, and serving others, it’s coming after my own cup is full. So I’m excited to be back and sharing more learnings :)
The last month has been a practice for me. A practice of letting go of doing. Of putting away to-do lists, next steps, next-things, what-about-this’s. And just relaxing into the moment and being.
I realized over the last many months that I’ve long overidentified as being a “doer.” Hand me a task, and it’ll get done. Doesn’t matter if I sacrifice my sleep, personal time, or my well-being. I literally handed the keys over to my determination to desperately drive through any and every obstacle to get to my destination, no matter what state it put me in.
I was sitting at a restaurant in Athens a few weeks ago, with a marvelous view of the Acropolis and the Ancient Agora. The full moon lit up the sky. The lights of the restaurants and stalls around me lit up the street with magic.
Here I was, in one of the most beautiful places I’d ever been, but my mind was racing. “What’s my plan for tomorrow? Will I see enough ruins? Will I have time for everything? If I leave my hostel at 9:55, I can make it to this gyro place when it opens…"
And that’s when it hit me like a truck– I was sitting in one of the most beautiful restaurants I had ever been to in my life, yet I was somewhere else entirely. My mind was in the future, in doing, in what’s next- anywhere BUT here.
I decided in that moment to let go and relax. To relax into the moment, the beauty, the present. I looked at the moon, the parthenon, and my wine with a fresh gratitude for the privilege to be here.
Be. here. Not “do later.” Just be here. And you know what? A profound sense of peace, joy, and lightness overcame my entire being when I did. I could appreciate sitting at that restaurant, listening to the chatter of people around me, marveling at the sheer beauty of sitting close to where Aristotle, Socrates, and others I’d read of may have themselves stood.
Since this moment, I have been practicing being. Because if my doing brain wants to take over even when I’m literally on vacation, then it sure as hell wants to drive when I’m working at home.
I’m making it a point to be mindful every day of when I’m in my head. When I’m making too many plans, lists, or next steps, I can breathe, and relax. I trust that I’m okay, being here, being me, right now. It’s a practice, but it’s definitely a huge shift in thinking for me.
Love this, Abhas!! So glad you could enjoy your trip in the moment – looks absolutely breathtaking 💖