There Is Nothing like Leaving it all Behind
About an hour before arriving at Breitenbush Hot Springs I lost cell service. And with it I left all my cares behind for a few days. It’s amazing how much time you have when you’re not checking emails, doing jobs, or planning new things.
I literally had nothing to do for five days other than show up three times a day for the course that Grace Bell and I were hosting. I slept a little later the first few nights. I went to bed early every night. I walked in the woods. I breathed in the fresh evergreen air.
There was no career, no family, no future, no past. Just the very basics of life.
I Found it Rejuvenating to Do Nothing
Not doing anything is a turnaround for me who is always doing something. Not planning anything is a turnaround for me who is always planning something. Not being productive is a turnaround for me who is always trying to be productive.
And when turnarounds meet stress they balance each other out. It’s always that simple. If I’m hungry, eating is my turnaround. If I’m tired, sleeping in my turnaround. If I’m busy, rest is my turnaround.
And it is also true that if I’m lethargic, then activity is my turnaround. If I’m bored, creativity is my turnaround. If I’m weak, movement is my turnaround.
Turnarounds Bring Balance
That’s all The Work of Byron Katie is about: balance. There are no absolutes. There is only balance in an ever shifting, ever changing life. The Work is my tool to find balance in any situation by bringing in the turnaround.
It seems obvious. And it really is that simple. But the obvious hides in plain sight. I literally can’t see the obvious when I’m driven. When I believe that I must get somewhere, I miss the fact that I have what I want even here.
The Work Is a Way Back to Nature
Not the nature of pine trees and stars. But the natural experience of peace. It is the movement away from what I think I want and need that brings me peace. It is the letting go that frees me.
That is what question 4 of The Work always invites: “Who would you be without that thought?” It’s an invitation into the cool, refreshing woods of myself. Who would I be without the thought that I need to get somewhere? I’d be in peace right here.
This means that you don’t have to go to the woods to find peace. The trees can be a quiet help, but peace is available even in the midst of a busy project, or busy family. It lies only a turnaround away. As soon as I question, “I want…” and “I need…” and balance them with “I don’t wan’t…” and “I don’t need…,” the mind naturally comes back home to rest, even if it’s busily engaged in activity.
The mind can literally can be unplugged even while still plugged in.
Join us next week for my free Open Sessions and let’s do The Work together.
Have a great weekend,
Todd
“I understand how painful the unquestioned mind is. I also understand that love is the power. Mind originates in love and ultimately returns to its source. Love is mind’s homing device, and until mind returns, it has no rest.” Byron Katie, A Mind at Home with Itself
