One thing good about my country is that it still has beautiful wide open spaces that are still untouched by us human folk. My hometown, though not too far away from the bustling city of KL, still provides sanctuary of peaceful living where I could escape from the frenetic pace of life and rest my soul in the company of greenery, the neighbourhood furries, the odd wild squirrel and melodious whistling magpies.
Today, on my morning run, I pondered my day as my eyes drifted across an almost barren patch of field. There, resting quietly, were two sparrows. They were oblivious to my approach as they huddled in the cold morning breeze, enjoying their quiet-time together.
I thought to myself as I stopped short of startling them. They need their privacy.
I need my private-time!!!
How are we to cope?
Necessary coping skills were pondered this morning. Here are some of mine in dealing with the annoyances of urban culture:
"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
Every Blessing
As a matter of fact, we all do too!!!
And yet, the challenges of maintaining a certain degree of privacy still do persist for us, the often money-mongering, mousey-scurrying & clumping urbanites.
In the account of Elie Wiesel's time spent at the concentration camp during the Holocaust, he observed that whilst many of his Jewish comrades were trying to survive in the harsh and barbaric environment that had become their hell-sanctuary; many had also created inner sanctums of rest, hope and peace. It was their mental-solace, memory-places that their minds could travel where their bodies could not. (May the departed souls achieve liberation!)
Those of us who make our way daily in the morning snarl of traffic, or in the sea of white-and-blue-collared-crowds, waiting and carelessly pushing at the LRT queues, who perpetually eavesdrop to others' handphone conversations leaking .... we crave for those private places where the travails of modern culture that impinge on our space are non-existent.
Necessary coping skills were pondered this morning. Here are some of mine in dealing with the annoyances of urban culture:
- Find a quiet place to retreat into if the static in the office or home ever becomes unbearable.
- Wake up earlier than others to enjoy peaceful-time arranging my schedule for the day; but not before setting the mind focused to being at peace via either prayers, meditation or yoga.
- Insist on private time to myself daily, no matter how busy my day is.
- Stare blankly into the sky from my office window especially after a strenuous stretch of meetings and functions.
- Treat myself to a nice lonely cup of coffee,tea or milk and biscuits at the pantry, or even a maggi-in-a-cup (if in the office) or out in the porch (if at home) or even take long quiet drives and stopby a quaint quiet coffee shop.
- Share some love with my furried pets.
- Turn off the teevee and whatever other appliances, only leave bedside lamp turned on and snuggle up in bed with a good book and soothing music, after a warm bath or shower.
- Retreat to the garden (if you have any) to rake some leaves or pull some weeds (kinda Zen, doncha think?)
- Practice compassion and loving kindness by leaving myself temporarily and taking care of others instead.
- Have a private-time reminiscing the good memories. A hearty laugh if it is a funny-one. Once a while, open the floodgates of tushita heaven and allow myself to cry my eyes out if the unfavourable memory warrants for it.
I Wish You Peace!!!!!
and have a charming week ahead.
and have a charming week ahead.
"Walk on a trail of loving kindness
Walk on a path of compassion
And all else around you will be beautiful."
Every Blessing
20 comments:
I don't think there's a place in my city untouched by urbanization. Our famous Golden Gate Park is actually man-made. The waterfall and ponds in the park are of course man-made and the unnaturalness of it is obvious. I wish I have a barren green space to retreat to as my sanctuary. Life is chaotic and sadly fast paced especially in the west, so having private time alone is very important. I wake up an hour early to have time for myself and to do things in the peaceful and quiet space.
hmm... sitting on the sofa sipping a cup of milo or tea while watching singing competitions or comedies are very relaxing to me. LOL! I like a good laugh =)
how about a good workout in the gym and a nice sweaty time off @ the sauna after the workout... :p Does this count?
i really enjoy my private time, as in being left alone, carefree, do my own stuff at my own pace :P
i can find my private time when i cuddle with my DS in his room :P
ahahahahahahh just wat i needed i think on a stale monday :)
another more practical practice - to get used to it!! have a cool week ahead dude.. :p
Yeah TZ pleaseeeeeeeee drag this Tun Fatimah to run at your treadmill before he faintz at the foothills! LOL... Kekekekeke!
The last time I ever attempted such a thing was during my pre-baptism retreat at Villa Dominic and at random prayer sessions. It's really rare to have a moment of true silence! But my mind still jumps around like a monkey. :P
Now I'm laughing at TZ and Grandma's comments. My private time would be reading and listening to music before hitting my sack.
I had a pretty good time last night. Drove down south for an hour to my friend's parent's place. I was too eager to wait for the sun to set so that I could enjoy the night sky. And sure enough, I wasn't disappointed. ;)
im working and living in a jungle in the middle of nowhere...privacy is the least of my concern hahaha...
in fact im dying for a bit of excitement!
i am really trying to take this post seriously but i jus came from grandma's blog where there was some mention of u being a male organ donor hahahahhaahhaahhaah
Rose@ Oh Rose, you oso do the same. I find mornings most peaceful. And to take deep breaths of the morning garden moist is so refreshing. Wonderful personal time.
Bravey@ I think most of us enjoy that part of privacy. Who could resist a wonderful cuppa, right? :)
TZ@ it sure counts, that is, if we are totally absorped in a situation, unobstructed by any interferences.
Happy@ precisely! :)
L2 @ Errrrr, I don't think "that" private time is what we are discussing. :P
Manglish@ Ooooer my Mondays are never stale! Glad I got you thinking about this topic then :)
SK@ glad you are thinking about it too. We do need our quiet time. :)
Granny Twilight@ you are off topic, as usual! :P
William@ if only we could conquer our minds 100%....we'd be enlightenend! :)
KY@ yup , I do that too. And our bedtime chats are nice too :)
Evann@ the clear skies often seen in Oz is really wonderful. :)
Bluey@ transform your mind to think how lucky you are to be able to hv so much quiet time to yourself this period. You'll cherish the experience when you are back to the hustle and bustle of citylife. :)
Bengbeng@ Hahahaha that's what i really saw when I glanced at the 1st pic in granny twilight's post, serious! Then again, my monkey mind tends to make humour of out every possible situation, esp when I'm stressed! hehehe
these are some great advices! :D i think at times we all do feel like we are losing on private time. thank god i have my own room and plenty of time to be in my room to do my stuffs. :)
just a few deep breaths and you can have a few seconds to yourself. that's important. :D
Come enjoy the wide open spaces in Miri!
Come enjoy the wide open spaces in Miri!
the gift of solitude
A smile from SJ =)
Conan@ we share the same thoughts almost all the time. Whenever things get too stressful, I really find that taking huge slow inhales and exhales really do relieve us of too much emtional pressure. Then again, different peeps handle themselves in different methods. So as long it works, alll's well! :)
Savante@ is that a personal invitation? Thanks in advance. Pls do let me treat you to a scrumptious buffet meal on your next trip home. :)
SJ@ yup, we need a good balance all the time, just like yin and yang. :)
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