William Essex
  • About Us
  • About Me
  • Dear Diary
  • Books (and other stories)
  • This takes you to Medium Dot Com

The pull of the other side

6/12/2011

 
All these short, slow days. Sun rising behind a band of cloud so that it's more a leakage of colour into the horizon, than a whole new day. Deliberately slow, at first, taking the available time, like pausing on a bridge despite the pull of the other side, pausing in this extended moment. In the process, detecting - and questioning - the givens, the assumptions, that make up so much of the pull. Why, now I come to think of it, should I rush to get this done, that done, the birds fed? It seems to me that the choice to live in the moment may be taken at one level of consciousness, while the obstacles to living in the same moment are at a deeper, less apparent, even less conscious, level. I choose to live in the moment, just as soon as I've got this done.
    I'm with the people who consider washing up to be a meditation. Doesn't get the dishes done any quicker, and if you've got a tidy kitchen on the other side of your bridge, yeah, okay, I'll do the drying because you're quicker than I am. Told last week by a talkative friend that meditation is very difficult. Said friend has only really meditated - really managed to do it properly - twice in her life, she said, but each of those times, she came away feeling so refreshed, so very much better. I think we define our own lives, and attach labels and conditions that aren't always helpful.
    One day, I shall teach a relaxation technique that involves filling a sink with warm, soapy water, immersing your hands, and rubbing one or more dishes, rhythmically, oh so rhythmically, with a sponge until they shine. In the gift shop, I shall sell squeezy bottles of liquid for relaxation, and a range of 'relaxation dishes'. My friend is happy to see meditation on the other side of the bridge. She seems relaxed, tranquil, cheerful, all the words that add up to: alive.

Comments are closed.

    Dear Diary: The Archive

    April 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    April 2024
    July 2023
    March 2023
    May 2022
    November 2021
    October 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011



No animals were harmed in the making of this website. Other websites are available online (and off). All the content here is copyright William Essex, this year, last year, the year before that and, you guessed it, the year before that, although I don't have the time right now to hunt out that little symbol. This website uses organic ingredients and respects your privacy. Come back some time.

Promoted by T&F CLP on behalf of William Essex at PO Box 16, Jubilee Wharf, Commercial Road, Penryn TR10 8GF.​