Every once in a while I just want to disconnect from the outside world and have some quiet time. It’s the time I take occasionally to just check in with myself to see how I’m doing. I haven’t taken one of these days in a while and I can tell because I have this unsettled feeling that just won’t go away. I feel as though there is something I should be doing, but I can’t put my finger on what it is. I can almost figure out what it is but then the phone rings or the traffic signal turns green or something else interrupts my thoughts. I know that this means I need to turn off the phone, turn off my computer and turn off the music, the noise and just listen. Listen to my thoughts and feel my feelings and try to do nothing but just be. Be still, be aware, be in the moment; be thoughtful, be introspective and yes, be all about me.

Sometimes it’s not so much what I do that makes the difference, but what I don’t. Don’t get online as soon as I wake up, but have my coffee on the patio, watching the sun rise and listening to the world slowly wake up. Don’t keep my phone by my side 24 hours a day, waiting for the call or text that may or may not come in. Don’t spend two hours watching yet another movie on Netflix and instead go out for a walk. Life is too short to rush through it unseeing and too long to live regretting those lost opportunities.

This is one of the times I need to distance myself from all of the hurry-scurry of the world, the rushing about, the company of others, the entertainment and escapism of movies, TV, internet and all other outside forces. For this is the only time I can truly hear and feel what is important; my physical and mental states telling me what is going on with them and what it is they need to function, to thrive and to heal and be whole. I haven’t taken enough of these days for some time now, but I feel as though it is now being demanded of me.

FULL STOP UNTIL YOU REST.

You see, my mind will always take care of itself and even if that means shutting the body down for days at a time until things are dealt with that have been ignored for too long, that is precisely what it will do. Additionally, if there is any danger of unpleasant thoughts becoming regretful actions, this is also a great method by which to avoid an unnecessary tragedy. Sleep is a balm to the weary soul, sanctuary for the unquiet mind and direct connection to the Divine.

The mind drives me crazy and the very same mind protects me from itself. Weird and beautiful; God really does have an insane sense of humor.

I’m off for a walk on the beach to fill my ears with sounds of timelessness; waves crashing against a shore they’ll never hold, but trying just the same. Children giggling, finding joy in seashells and seagulls dive bombing the beach, the simple things of worth in the world we call reality.

Checking out of the “real world” and seeking solace in Mother Nature’s world is really powerful healing magic for anything that ails the human spirit, as Lord Byron knew so well.