Freedom From Anxiety
Last weekend, I had the most lovely "me time."
It was the most beautiful summer day and I had nothing planned
except to ride my bike and explore Toronto. I grabbed my backpack
and filled it essentials like water, mad money and an old journal
from a holiday in Paris that I wanted to reread.
I rode my hot pink bike down to a pretty park
and found a shady bench where I could rest my weary bones
and enjoy reading about my past trips to my favorite city.
My journal was from a trip in 2008 and I had
taken it with me to the American Library in Paris
where I found an article by Tom Hodgkinson
I had written some notes in my journal thank goodness.
What a wonderful day to find this.
Serendipity?
Five Steps To A Free Life:
Banish Anxiety
The whole system is set up to make you anxious.
Anxiety is the sacrifice of creativity in the service of security.
Security is a myth.
The cause of heart disease is an uneasy heart and
idleness is necessary to fight that anxiety.
Bike, walk, paint, garden .... do what you love.
Ensure your day is varied.
Embrace a fatalistic philosophy .. life does have an ending.
Spend your time in sweet pursuits as well.
You really have no control over your life.
There are too many variables.
Break The Bonds of Boredom
Give up TV, newspapers and the internet for longer periods.
Boredom drives us to be couch potatoes, mindless eaters
and solitaire fanatics.
Turn down the noise so you can hear yourself and your heart.
Enjoy life for it's own sake.
Play a uke. Write in your journal.
Make a collage our of your old magazines.
Fight The Tyranny of Bills
There is freedom in simplicity.
Avoid consuming the products of the system.
Buying is another boredom retreat.
Live simply and be creative in rethinking and
reusing what you already own.
Mindless shopping keeps you tied to the system.
Get Out Of The City
Or if you live in a city, find a beautiful
park where you can relax and enjoy nature and quiet.
Grow some veggies in pots in your backyard.
Plan a picnic in a favorite park.
Leave your phones at home and talk or
just be quiet and listen ... to the
birds and yourself.
Cast Off The Watch
Lose track of time by doing something you love.
See what an afternoon looks like without
your watch or your phone.
Don't demand so much of yourself to get all
those things on your list done.
Time is free.
It is a gift from God.
You don't get it back.
Something special happened to me after I read this
entry in my journal from Paris.
I will tell you about it in my next post.
