The following piece comes from a 20 minute writing exercise in our Thursday writing group. Sometimes I have to tear myself away from the hustle and bustle of my busy life to attend the group. Often my effort is rewarded by some self discovery that I may have missed had I not overcome my resistance to leave the hectic pace behind. This exercise was one of those times for which I am grateful to have made the effort to be present.

Meditation does not come easily to me.  This busy life tends to bring on the monkey brain that chatters away incessantly, either planning something or reviewing and categorizing something completed. I also find that I tend to critique myself and others and miss the very point of existence.

I forget to be. Often have I heard the phrase; “We are human beings, not human doings.” So when I notice monkey brain taking over I need to take a few deep breaths, distance myself from the business of my day and go on a sort of sabbatical.

The most grounding situation for me is at the seashore. To stand on the ocean chiseled stony beach, to bury my bare feet in the damp solid of the shore line, to breathe in the salt air is to drain tension from my body. As I walk or simply stand rooted in that moist firm footing, I become one with the setting. There is nowhere I have to be, nothing I have to do. Just for that oasis of time, I become human being.

The lapping of the waves on the shore washes over my spirit.
The colours undulate around my head.
The Universe and I are one.

My grey world slowly absorbs the brilliance that surrounds me.
I am the green, blue, white of the waves.
I am the pallor of the skies.

I am the softness of the clouds.
Within me are the stones washed clean by the tides,
Smoothed and soothed by the waves.

I am flavoured by the saltine wetness.
I am brightened by the sunset’s glow.
I am part of the great I AM.

This interlude has so refreshed me that I can better absorb the ebb and flow of the life to which I must now return.

By Márta O’Reilly

See all articles by The Thursday Writers