I want to tell you a story. A story about Tara. Tara is my cat. She's almost 10 years old and she was the one that taught me very valuable lessons.
It was 2010. After a horrible year of stressful life-events I was confronted with my vulnerability and limitations. I was depressed and burned-out. I had to admit I didn't have supernatural strength. My body had forced me to take rest and I turned out to be "only human".
But I was restless. I felt rushed and hyped-up. I was too tired to sleep and too exhausted to work. I felt sick, depleted and in pain. But I couldn't sit still for more than 5 minutes.
That's when my cat intervened... One day she saw a short window of opportunity and managed to install herself on my lap just as I had turned off the TV and was about to get up again.
At that moment I had a choice: stand up anyway or sit still for a while with Tara on my lap and nothing else to do than to pet her and enjoy the silence. Well, "enjoy the silence" wasn't something I was used to back then. It was quite frankly the first time in a long time it was quiet around me.
I chose to stay seated and endure the tranquility. I couldn't reach the remote. I had so much to do and it was so hard to relax! But I did. I focused on Tara. I felt the love I have for her and how nice it was to sit there with her and be really present in the moment. I hadn't experienced something like that for a long time.
Since then I've mastered the art of "doing nothing". It's so important to be able to do that! I am now able to recognize that and pass this know-how on to my clients who just can't seem to allow themselves to sit still.
So to this day I'm grateful for the valuable lessons Tara taught me:
- to be mindful and present in the here-and-now
- to make conscious choices - to be with myself, feel what's going on within and focus on me - to relax and do nothing.
