I love taking myself to my favorite local beach for a walk. I just walk and walk. My feet absorb the sand and cold ocean water while the rest of me simply moves about. There is no intention to go a certain distance or duration; just….to walk. I get to be with myself.
I have come to call these beach walks my medicine walks. These simple steps in the sand are healing for me. This a time in which I allow myself to be just as I am in the present. I allow myself to meander about without a particular direction or be called to something out of sheer curiosity. My body is given the freedom to find itself and experience its surroundings, while my self awareness is invited to expand and embrace all of me.
I walk until I feel called to turn around. Sometimes I see friends and neighbors and share a few friendly chats and meet new dogs. Most times, I get to be alone, really alone, and those durations are so sacred. On a recent walk, perched upon a large, smooth rock, I sat and gazed out into the vast distance at the Channel Islands. In recollection, it seemed I was not looking at anything in particular. I invited myself to be and stay in each present moment and that left me with out a particular external experience to describe, because the depth of my internal experience was so rich.
Bringing attention to the Self is being with one’s deeper being and when one is truly in the Now, there are now words for it. Richard Ross, MD and author of “The Mandala of Being” says that when “we exercise the power of our awareness without any certainty about the outcome…we let ourselves be led deeper into life by bring present with what is, rather than by trying to control and direct ourselves and our lives.”
A deep sense of knowingness and love washed over me like a soft wave as I sat there. I remembered how important it was to lend nurturing and healing to my body, mind and soul, always. Not just when I was in need; but always. The pause in my walk, to just sit and be, was a crucial element. It is in moments of “simple existence” when we can hear ourselves - our inner most selves, speak. Those moments are sacred because our essential self is wise, compassionate and loving.
The importance of all this tends to get lost in all of our doing. Our society does not invite us to pause and be still. It can feel like we need to fight for it, ironically. Sometimes, we do need to carve out the time and space for ourself; Conscious being and connecting in stillness, silence and softness - they are essential for us. Soul medicine can be different for everyone. Whether yours is singing, sitting in quiet, or dancing like no one is watching, what ever your need is, is fundamental for your vitality, sanity and full sense of Being You.
Even I need the reminder to Pause, Breathe, Be. Perhaps we can help one another remember? Rather than ask a friend what they’re going to do next, or if they’ve finally figured out what the “perfect” solution is, perhaps our role - our responsibility as a loved one - is to ask, “When was the last time you took a time out to be with Yourself?”