Change Of Pace

One way and another I have been going at it quite consistently for the last couple of week. Good times. People coming individually and in groups to visit and enjoy the countryside. All the same when I arrived at Throssel a couple of days ago for a weeks stay I was dead beat. It took a trip to the dentist, always a stressful event, to finally realize that some extended horizontal was needed. Rested now.

Not everybody is able to take time out from their lives. Often this only comes when ones health makes resting non optional. A sad state of affairs, sad yet true for the majority of people. I was told yesterday that being tired is a signal that rest is needed. Animals do that. I guess accumulated fatigue has far reaching mental and physical consequences. This is all by way of reminding myself of the wisdom of sitting down and doing nothing very much, even if for five or ten minutes.

Traveling as a passenger in trains and planes and cars are all sitting down events. How I loved to travel by train. Suspended between where I’d come from and where I was going to. A time to contemplate while gazing out of the window. A time set apart to allow the mind to roam pleasantly.

This post is really setting the scene for this video sent by Julius. It’s a reminder to smile at our own habits of keeping-on-walking when resting is possible, and preferable.


From The London Underground Blog

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

8 thoughts on “Change Of Pace”

  1. This post is very timely for me today, so thank you! I just spent the last couple of hours wrestling with the decision whether or not I really needed to make a 90-mile round trip in bad weather to keep a dental appointment, while feeling rather tired and a bit flu-y. Of course, the appointment was easily rescheduled (which I ended up doing), but it is just so hard sometimes to allow oneself to be human and tired. Why is that? For me this may be a facet of the koan of inadequacy…

    So.. “being tired is a signal that rest is needed”…so simple! And yet…

    (loved the video!)

    With bows, Jeannine

  2. Hi Rev Mugo,

    glad you’ve been able to take the time out to rest and brave the dentist (I still haven’t been).

    The most challenging time for me is upon me now with light nights, rowing season and all manner of outdoors on and off the water tempting me not to stop. We even have a garden with 5 trees now, and they need some work too.

    Loved the dog

    In gassho, Kevin

  3. Dear Rev Mugo
    Thank you so much for this posting.

    What a lovely teaching from you, together with this little dog. It really made me smile. I too can be a resister of rest and will try to remember this image next time I find myself striving when there is no real need to.

    I hope you’ll be able to get properly rested while at Throssel this week.

    Gassho, Julie X

  4. Yes, how I relate to your comments about travel. I have just done a transatlantic flight where I was lucky enough to get three seats to myself so was able to be horizontal for as much of the flight as I wanted. I slept of course, but then found I was happy just to lie there, awake but still, observing my breathing, being in the moment. There was literally nowhere to go and nothing to do and it was a very valuable ‘just sitting’ experience. Now, away and with not much to do, I’m also appreciating an enforced change of pace and letting go of my own agenda for a bit. I feel rather fortunate on what is, in some ways, quite a difficult trip.

  5. Ah, how I remember those times spread across several seats – just lying there listening to the rumble and roar. And crying babies! Safe travels Chris.

  6. Hi Julie, Glad you liked the cute little dog paddling the air. There were several videos of dogs doing that. Moving means walking to them I guess. Not much rest actually as it is a retreat week-end.

  7. I think this has happened before Jeannine, that I have posted something that fitted your present life challenges. Always good to see you here by the way.

Leave a Reply to Jeannine Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.