For years, my morning hikes have become a gift to myself of a way to reset my head and get ready, mentally, for the day ahead. Ever since I moved to Boise in 1997, I have been fortunate to have lived by an area to take my walks or hikes in solitude. In the past eight years, my solitude has been shared by my black labradoodles, first Zeke and now Murphy.
This morning, I reflected on a partner phone call our team had on Friday about anxiety and an email I received over the weekend from Daily Om about learning to slow down. Both struck a chord in my heart and soul of why America is in a current nosedive of unease and angst.
Why watch the news we miss the day before when the news changes so fast? With deadlines and commitments, how can we get it all done in a day? How can we focus on what we need when others are asking more and more from us? Truthfully, we do need to slow down.
The buzz word nowadays is mindfulness. but what does that really mean? For me, as a Christian Buddhist, mindfulness means something completely different from the buzz word. And yet, when you get down to it, it does signify being present and letting go of the worry of the what ifs in our lives. Simplify your life and you simplify your actions as well as your reactions.
Later in my hike, I realized that perhaps one of those daily gifts I like to give can be to slow down and think before I speak. There have been so many instances on social media where I rush to reply, only to backspace and let it go. I just don’t want the rancor, and I am sure that deep down, the other person doesn’t either.
What if giving to our communities also meant collaborating instead of just saying no?
I would rather talk than type. What about you?
#LifeLesson #DiscussNotArgue #Community
Laurie B's Blog© 
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