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Shutting off the stimulus overload

Friday, June 17, 2011 Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago in my meditation class (9:00 Saturday mornings, right after hot yoga at Core Power Yoga Stapleton), we meditated on doing with the least amount of effort.

We fill our lives with so much busyness- from our ever present phones and Facebook and email, to our kids' nightly routine of bath/PJs/eat an apple/brushing teeth/read a book, to our own quirky busy things... sometimes it's just stimulus overload. What if you took a day and accomplished just what you need to do (nothing more), with the least amount of effort? What if you took a week?

It really hit home to me. With a gluten and dairy free diet, every single meal is a regimented ordeal. I'm preparing one thing for my family, and something else for me. Without grains or breads, I need to eat every three hours just to fuel up. Add in my son's daily allergy/asthma medication, which I had to set an alarm on my phone for so I wouldn't forget. School, playdates, carpools, sports. Working out, walking the dog twice a day, making sure she gets her glucosamine/chondroitine. Wash Mount Laundry. Dry Mount Laundry. Fold the clothes. And put them away. Every day I've got loads in, loads out, loads piling up.

What would it look like to forget the regimen for one day? I can't skip meals or medication, but what about letting the laundry go, or skipping a playdate or the trip to the Museum? What about putting the grocery shopping off and using up the stuff in my overstuffed pantry?

It looks like this: sun-dried tomato risotto for dinner, with fresh herbs from my garden. Simple, cheap, and in my pantry. Leaving the car parked in the garage, just not going anywhere. Staying in our PJ's all morning long. Pulling out the old Thomas the Train set and building a huge railway in the playroom, and spending hours playing train. Leaving the laundry doors shut and quiet for two whole days. If we run out of underwear, I guess we'll buy more. Leaving the iPhone, iPad and laptop in my office and shutting the door (that one was hard). Walking the dog a new route, instead of letting her out in the field across the street.

What would your day look like?

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