The art of breathing seems to be everywhere I turn this week.   I am taking a writing class and one of the chapters I read for today's session  talked about the importance of quieting your mind and listening to your own intuition.  It stressed that it would be difficult to quiet the chattering voices in our heads unless we find time each day to sit quietly and breath.  Of course in yoyga we talked about the power of quiet and breathing.  And last week's chapter in the book The Joy Diet was all about the power of "Nothing" which asked each reader to spend 15 minutes a day doing nothing so that they could  find that special sense of peace that we all possess.
Tomorrow I will be working with a large group of teachers and I will spend part of the time sharing with them what I am now putting into practice each day which is sitting quietly, enjoying the moment and hopefully clearing my mind.  Sometimes it is easy but sometimes it is very hard. But no matter what, it is always worthwhile to spend a little time with yourself to learn more about who you are. 

This week we are reading about doing Nothing.  For the past two years I have tried to meditate on and off.  Sometimes I have been successful and it was a wonderful experience.  This summer we went on a short vacation to a Bed and Breakfast that advertised a lake and beautiful gardens.  In reality the lake was a pond and the garden was beautiful but small.  Our room had a large window which overlooked both the lake and the garden.  Each morning I would sit in the window and meditate or read.  It was a wonderful experience which I wanted to recreate when I got home.  In my bedroom I have a large window which overlooks our backyard.  I don't have a lake or even a garden but I do have wonderful trees and some potted flowers.  I also have a chair which looked into the room rather than out the window.  So I turned my chair around so I could look at the tall trees.  What a difference that made.  I now have my own little sanctuary where I can meditate or read and feel very peaceful.  What amazed me is how by just turning my chair around I created a very special space for me.  It is so often the simplest things that can make the biggest difference.  Is there a simple thing you can do to make doing "Nothing" even more special for you?

Today I read the first chapter of Martha Beck's book The Joy Diet.  There are ten chapters in all and the first step towards a life of joy is doing nothing for fifteen minutes a day.  I think that this is very interesting because the world we live in is so filled with things to do that the thought of doing nothing is either ridiculous to some people or considered an impossible goal to others.  Since I have retired I find myself taking classes or joining groups so that I will have something to do.  I have been trying to fill my time with things I really want to do but if I am being truthful  I am also trying to stay busy.  So now I am going to step back and see how it feels to give myself permission to do nothing for 15 minutes a day.  It will be interesting to see how this makes me feel. 

Tomorrow will be the beginning of Jamie Ridler's group discussion of Martha Beck's book The Joy Diet.  I haven't read the book yet but I do know that it is not about dieting but about living a life full of joy.  Since I have never been part of a group that read a book and then blogged about the experience, I am looking forward to this new experience.  I have enjoyed reading other people's blogs and hope that someday others will enjoy my blog. 

"How we spend our days is how we spend our life."  When you stop to think about what that means it is really a little overwhelming.  Life goes by so quickly which for me means that I should spend my days doing something meaningful.  That does not mean that each day will be the same or that each season of my life will be spent doing the same thing but it does mean that if I am wasting  my time worrying about things that I have no control over I am wasting my life and life is too precious to waste.  So I am going to start planning each day with a little more thought and a lot more enthusiasm.  Life should be fun and only I have the power to make each day special for me.

It is hard to believe that twelve days have passed since the last time I wrote on my blog.  I was out of town visiting with relatives and had a wonderful time.  It is so nice to visit with all of the generations and learn about what everyone is doing.  What is most interesting to me is that even though we don't live close we can talk and laugh no matter how often we see each other.  I am a firm believer in communication.  It is so good to talk to those people we care about.  We need to learn about what interests them and what they are doing.  People are so busy that it is very easy to forget about what really matters.  To me that is spending time with those that are important to me.