To quote the poet, Mary Oliver!
Over the half term, I went camping. I hate camping. Or, at least I used to. I LOVE getting away and going on holiday, I think that the part of me that used to live abroad lives on strong and I struggle with my desire of wanting to go on holiday every school break! I work hard, I deserve it, or so I tell myself. But city breaks, adventures and beach holidays don’t come cheap. So, I agreed to go camping. And I bloody loved it! So much so, that this weekend we bought a new tent and we are going to test it out next weekend!
I genuinely believe that my love of yoga and meditation heavily influenced my enjoyment of camping. Through yoga and meditation, I have learned not to react to situations that I cannot control. So, upon waking up on Sunday morning, as the rain was leaking into the tent, I just took a calming breath in and out, drank my brew and enjoyed listening to the sound of it pattering on the tent, as I snuggled my doggies and made plans to go out walking somewhere for the day. In the past I would have sulked, complained and suggested we pack up and go home (in my defence, I do suffer from Raynaud’s syndrome). I am so glad that we stayed; it gave me the opportunity to embrace nature, get out in the fresh air, go hiking and just spend time with my gorgeous family, and the weather picked up!
Meditating doesn’t have to be sitting in a cave, alone, sat bolt up right and last hours. Perhaps just have a moment of quiet, draw the awareness to ONE of your senses, focus your attention on the breath, feel your heart beat, watch a bird flying, watch the ocean waves crashing on the coastline…just be, and see what happens. You never know, you might end up buying a tent!
