A Rested Heart
I’m letting myself be carried on the changing stream of life
When I forget to pause:
My body goes into a freeze response, and my mind is in flight, or sometimes fight. In conflict, they each feel trapped by the limitations of the other. Because my mind is agitated and driven to action, my still body doesn’t feel the least bit relaxed. Tension impacts my shoulders, jaw and neck. Because of the inertia in my body, my mind isn’t getting the exercise it needs to feel satisfied that I have done “enough.” There is a continuous undercurrent of fear of not being enough.
“We believe ‘nothing’ is happening when we aren’t forcing it, powering through, pressing onwards. But ‘nothing’ is never happening.”
— Danielle Loewen
Rest your heart in what is true.
This is the Pali definition of faith, or saddha. What’s true for me is that I need to rest. I see my mind as the obstacle. My teacher Bo Forbes says it is possible to have an anxious mind and a depressed body. When I pause, there’s a boundless quality to my awareness. When I allow my anxious mind to lead, my world gets smaller again.
“It is the giving over to…
