Stopping... completely...

Today was my first day off in a couple of weeks and it was all about stopping. Stopping work, stopping worry, just plain stopping. I was reading my book, Coaching the Artist Within, when I asked my husband if he thought I was a real artist. His response was that he thinks I need to stop trying to be an artist and just be one. See? Stopping.

In my reading today, I learned a new centering sequence- a breathing activity- to help get you centered to begin your creative work. The first step of this sequence is "Come to a complete stop". Maisel, the author, writes, "This step addresses ... our condition of perpetual flight. We are rushing around,... pulled by our multiple duties and responsibilities. We are doing too many things and worrying about too many things. Many of us are running away- from the awareness that we are not living the life that we wish we were leading, not realizing our dreams, not doing our deepest work, not making sufficient meaning. So as not to notice these painful truths, we keep ourselves in mental and physical motion."

I definitely subscribe to this coping mechanism. In fact, when I started to look for it, I noticed it hits me at least once every 5 minutes. I'm talking to my husband and I glance behind him at the closet, and think, "Gosh, I should clean that closet". He mentions something to do with money, and I think, "Man, I have got to pay that bill." He tells me something about his mother, and I think, "Gees, I need to send her that Thank You card." I can't stop!

So, in order to clear my head I decided to do my Billy Blanks Taebo and then go for a relaxing bike ride. Man, it's tough riding a bike after you just did approximately 100 side kicks. But I rode anyway, as I listened to By The Way by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which, by the way (yuck, yuck), is definitely their best album. The music from each of the songs just combines to make this amazingly beautiful, emotional tale. But, moving on, as I rode my bike, I practiced "stopping". At one point, the wind was blowing so hard as I rode into it, it was as if I were moving in slow motion, as if in a dream. When I finally pulled back into my neighborhood, my favorite song was pumping me up- "Can't Stop".

I had never really paid attention to the lyrics before, but they suddenly jumped out at me. Two lines in particular called to me as echoes of my post about living on faith- Can't stop the gods from engineering; Feel no need for any interfering. But, most of all, I feel like it's a life-affirming song. The world I love, the tears I drop to be part of the wave, can't stop; Ever wonder if it's all for you? It reminds us that it's all worth it in the end, if for no other reason than just to be a part of this amazing life. The trick is stopping to realize it.

Can't stop the spirits when they need you; this life is more than just a read through.



Taken in my neighborhood on my bike ride. I believe it's a sign. ;)