13/06/2019 – a Summer’s day in Austria
(All quotes are from Alan Watts)
We love planning. Admit it. Fantasising about future holidays, dream jobs and sought-after material items. These things seem to grab a lot of space in our minds. I’m definitely guilty of this.
Today I had somewhat of a realisation. (More apt: a culmination of previous realisations)
Basically, I was looking forward to having some alone-time today. I love hanging out with the other volunteers/hosts wherever I go, but sometimes space is needed. If you don’t take some time for yourself, you end up reverting into mindless routine. You begin to take it all for granted and stop appreciating what you’re doing.
So today I went on a walk – hoping some thoughts might hit me. I was surrounded by wheat fields, with a picturesque backdrop of the Austrian alps and the rolling landscape. Of course, the world was too beautiful and distracted me from my so-called ‘important thoughts’. I concentrated on the heat of my bare feet on the hot road surface. I glimpsed the sunlight hitting the golden hair of the wheat. I felt the gentle breeze brush my skin.
I was irritated by the swarms of bugs that were ready to bite and the oncoming headache from mild dehydration.
This is what happens when you are out and about in the countryside. There is so much life going on, that your thoughts become second bench.
Later today I went on a cycle and was astonished all the way by the beautiful views. Glorying in the breezy warmth and the brassy glow of evening light. Flying down hills and cycling hands-free on the smooth open, roads. No thoughts, just enjoyment. Then the coin flipped. Cramps set in. I looked around me and discovered I was lost. I wanted to get back to the farm quickly to recover from these dire torso pains. But one wrong road after another had me restless and edging on panic. For the next thirty minutes my only focus was getting back to the house. Stupid thoughts shut off and I was fully aware.
In the evening we made a fire. The usual playing guitar and singing and chatting. I was the last to leave. I ended up lying beside the fire with a box of magazines. Soaking up the pleasant warmth and tossing in magazines one by one. Just watching as the flames devoured them. Each time in a new way. Sometimes the pages would flip as it burned, sometimes the paper would go brown and charred before the flames got it. Some of the flames slid down the paper in a uniform manner, like a laser beam. Other flames were wild and sporadic, whipping the air. I was completely absorbed in watching them.
What im getting to, is that it is difficult to be stuck in your own head when you are outside in nature. You may go off on a walk intending to reach a conclusion about a particular worry you have. But you will most likely end up so distracted by the world around you, that you’ll be taken outside of your own head.
And that’s a good thing.
This reminds me of the most important lesson I have learned through my spiritual wanderings. That no matter where you are or what you are doing, the purpose of life will always be the same. That purpose is to be there in that moment. To live your life as it happens, not through memories and not through fantasies. You’ve heard it millions of times before “be present.”
But of course it’s harder than it seems.
“The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic, As if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
“No valid plans for the future can be made by those who have no capacity for living now”
Regards planning, we could all definitely do less of it. We are always thinking of what we need to cross off the to-do list next. Whether it be ‘text this person’, ‘make lunch’ or ‘plan holiday’. But to constantly worry about what to do next is to miss out on what is happening right now. Once you complete the current tasks, more will come. The supply of tasks will never cease. We have to learn how to pause and appreciate the moment, even with a backdrop of ‘to-do items’
In Paulo Coehlo’s acclaimed novel ‘the Alchemist’, there is a great scene where the protagonist is invited to explore this grandiose palace with many riches and decorations to pour over. However, there is a trick. He is given a spoon of oil, which he is told he must hold steady throughout his wanderings in the castle. Of course when he returns from his wanderings, all of the oil is gone from the spoon, spilled. The moral he is taught, is that throughout life we must balance the important things while we enjoy life’s pleasures.
The most acclaimed way to appreciate the present more, is to meditate. There are so many definitions of meditation and so many reasons to do it. My favourite, of course, comes from Alan Watts.
“Meditation is the discovery that the point of life is always arrived at in the immediate moment”
Going back to what I was saying, the purpose of life will always be, to really be there. Nothing else is happening, the past is over and the future is only a concept. All there is, is now. Become attuned to the sounds and sights and smells around you. Become attuned to the feelings and sensations and thoughts within. Realise that the barrier between inner and outer is mostly illusory…
“If you meditate for an ulterior motive (to improve your mind, your character, to appear ‘zen’ …etc) then you’ve got your eye on the future and you are not meditating”
It’s important not to force yourself to meditate for some reason. For example ‘I’m stressed – I must meditate – oh no, now I’m stressed about having to meditate’ No. Meditation should only be about becoming more present. Only then can you focus on your anxious feelings and help ‘exhale’ them, out with the soothing breath.
“Meditating is a kind of ‘digging the present’ a ‘grooving with the eternal now”
The next time you are strolling outdoors and you find the world around is distracting you, let it. It will take you out of your head and back into reality. Back into the moment, where you should always try to be.
It is important to establish some kind of meditation routine in your life. Just like it is important to brush our teeth and to exercise and to take naps; meditation is an essential habit which needs be built into your everyday life.
That’s all from me for now,
Have a mindful day,
Hannah
Hannah Fitzpatrick Creative 