A Natural Perspective

This past week, I’ve been pet sitting at a home out in the country. The property is only 10 mins out of town, but it is large enough that I can only see one neighboring house off in the distance.

It feels great to be outside in the fresh air – away from the busy neighborhood I live in with the constant sounds of landscape crews mowing, loud delivery trucks, or noisy dirt bikes riding up and down my street. Here there are no cars passing by, no delivery trucks, no noisy neighbors. Nothing but the occasional plane flying overhead. It is so peaceful.

I remember how much I enjoy being out in nature alone. It’s pleasant sitting on the front porch looking out over the open field and wide sky. It allows me to think and have perspective. There are few disturbances so that I can focus more on my thoughts and feelings.

So what have I noticed this week?

That my mind is busy. It’s trying to remember and keep track of a lot of little details: don’t forget to call the vet back, return an email, contact the library, text a friend…. The list goes on. Each item is like a string attached to me, connected to each “to do” that keeps me feeling overwhelmed and immobile. Every time I try to “move”, there are dozens of strings holding me in place. Only once I am able to complete the task or project am I able to clip myself free of that individual string. But there is always a new string/project/to-do item just waiting to be attached. It feels like I am a marionette tangled up in her strings, unable to move.

How do I escape this tangled mess?

I need to get out of my head. That’s where the marionette lives. It’s not in my body, my gut or my heart. It is just in my mind. So how do I do that, get out of my head? Strategies that typically work for me are working out, stretching, yoga, reading, crafting, meditating, and snuggling with my dog. All of these things bring me back into my body and the moment and keep me grounded. So I’m going to work on doing just that. And for now, I’m going to clip those strings, tie them off to a rock so that I am can be free and move once again.

I can always pick those strings back up when I’m done.

They are not going anywhere..... unfortunately.