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Go placidly amid the noise and the haste.

Happy Friday you wonderful humans.
[Virtus Performance, Mornington]

“Never underestimate the value of doing nothing, of just going along, listening to all of the things you can’t hear, and not bothering” //Winnie the Pooh

For the last few years basically, since I finished school in 2009, I’ve valued ‘hustle’ over most things. Head down, bum up, work hard and get things done. With football, work, coaching, growing a business and creating a life I want to live almost everything has been centred around progression. Not just embracing this progression, but hunting it. Finding ways to move forward at the expense of all else, there’s no doubt that at times my health and wellbeing have suffered because of this. If you asked me what was important, progress would have been close to #1.

I sit here today and think about what would be at the top of the list, words like connection, family, freedom and compassion come to mind. Growth, development, and consistent improvement is still important, but lately, I can feel a shift in myself and how I look at the world. These things are great, they’ll always be a part of my life, but they don’t hold the same weight that they used to. In moments of quiet reflection, I’m beginning to appreciate the effort and elegance in silence and ones ability to hold space and to listen as Pooh Bear mentioned above, to all the things you can’t hear.

“The day you stop racing is the day you win the race” // Bob Marley

As each year rolls by, everything is happening faster, it feels like the earth spins quicker every year. We want it all and we want it now. We get better at juggling, we put more and more balls in the air. So many that we stop focusing on what is happening around us. We are slowly losing the ability to stop, to breathe and to take it all in. We want things immediately. Patience is no longer a virtue, and it’s causing a shift away from the present moment. Peace and stillness are not found in busy times, they are found in moments of idleness, in times of quiet contemplation.

We want to work, and we want to work hard. But before you do, be mindful of how you’re spending your time. Meditation can be as short as a breath, or as long as you desire.

To quote Max Erhmann from desiderata “Go placidly amid the noise and haste, and remember what peace there may be in silence”

My task for you.

Take a moment. A moment for yourself. Stop and close your eyes. Focus on breath and go inwards. Let your mind wander. Experience, feel, think, or don’t. Just be. Forget that time exists, just let yourself be.

Lachie

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“People seldom do what they believe in.

They do what is convenient, then repent.”
—————
// Bob Dylan //