After years of intermittent yoga and meditation practice, the one thing that stays with me is focusing on the breath. No matter where you are, or what's going on, you can always switch into paying attention to the breath. And from that attention, to ground yourself and release.
Breathing space also evokes (for me) the voice of my conductor from my amateur concert band. You all need to release here, she says. You need to lift and give the music space to breathe. Of course, the other breathing space is the frantic gasp for air, snatched among frantic activity.
This week is a metaphorical breathing space in the transition between TLQ blocks. For those of you beginning a new semester, I hope that you are able to find breathing spaces that bring calm!
The next TLQ session (Autumn-Winter/Spring-Summer depending on hemisphere) will start next week, and run for 15 weeks until 17 December. KJHaxton and I will be your co-hosts.
Please let us know if you intend to join in the next session (we will have a formal signup next week), or feel free to use this post as a chance to vent or note any goals for the week.
Thank you for this lovely post and the reminder, as ever, to breathe.
ReplyDeleteI agree with humming42. I can always use the reminder to breathe.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I will be back for the next session.
Goal: Must.not.read.ALL.the Vorkosigan-saga listserv archives. Why ever did I follow that link in the first place? Gah. I have a real life. I even have another online life. I do not need to geek out with years-old posts about books I have read multiple times.
ReplyDeleteDidn't that series just win a Hugo? I have Falling Free on my bookshelf. (Not helping, I'm sure.)
ReplyDeleteYes. It's awesome. I'm sort of stunned that there are people who are waaayy more geeky than I am about it. They notice details that went right past me, which are relevant to plot and character development (why I find reading these lists addictive). I wish my students were so attentive to things we read in class! It does make me happy, as an English prof, to know that there are readers who are so good at literary interpretation, even if they're focusing on speculative fiction. I mean, nothing against sf, I love it and do teach it when I can, it's just that mostly I teach medieval lit and I'd love to see the same level of attention there.
DeleteI am not.looking. to see if there are similar lists for the Foreigner series (Cherryh). So not going there. La la la . . . I think maybe I'm a teeny bit stressed about working while trying to move! Or trying to pack/sell the house while working. However we put it.
No, definitely don't go look for a Foreigner list... or ANYTHING on TVTropes... or start re-reading discworld novels (or either of the two named series)... or start reading ANY new series... they will suck you in!
DeleteThank you! I am beyond stressed - so a reminder to breathe and focus on the current moment are really helpful.
ReplyDeleteI'm in NYC and in my new apartment. I'm not even close to being unpacked, but was able to set up the living room furniture on Saturday and my bed and desk yesterday. Only 13,000 more boxes to go! When I moved, I downsized my personal library by half (from 8 bookcases to 4). During the move, my bookcases shattered. My new landlord is letting me use one of his (it needs to be attached to the wall before I can use it though). It is an antique and old, dark wood - I love it. But, my *already horrifically winnowed* book collection won't fit on it - and I don't think my housemate would want me to put bookcases in the living room (although if I can figure out a place for them, I might do it anyway). So, I might have to make some really hard choices! :( Unfortunately, we postdocs don't have offices or even cubicles at my new university - we have one long desk in an open area. So, no room for books there, and if I brought stuff it could get taken.
My postdoc mentor called me yesterday to check in on my/our projects - so I am stressed about that stuff as well. I have 3 R&Rs that came in during my move, and I have to move on them quickly.
Looking forward to getting settled and focusing on work again! All that aside, NYC is amazing and I can't believe I get to live here!!
I've always wanted to have a temporary gig in NYC. I know you have actual real work to do, and I certainly wish you luck, focus, and writing mojo to do it, but I hope you can enjoy the city while you're there.
DeleteLiving in a world city like that for a year or two sounds great! But booo for the bookshelves... clearly you just need MORE BOOKCASES (or book piles), NOT more winnowing...
DeleteThanks for the reminder to breathe; it works for singing (both leaving space and trying to fit in small catch breaths), too. I think I'm trying to figure out how to fit breathing room into my days even as things get busier.
ReplyDeleteI'm in for the next session, and will try to be a more faithful "attendee." Many thanks for hosting.
And my goal for the week is to come up with some realistic plans/goals (though I think one of my goals may be to take things more as they come -- but even then, there are things that I want to work into the ever-shifting landscape).
Hi all,
ReplyDeleteI took a Big Step last week, and booked in some professional help with my domestic disorder. Thanks for helping me realise what I was trying just wasn't working and was stressing me out - blaming myself wasn't productive!
I just had the first session today with a decluttering expert, and have another one due next week - we excavated the front hall and about a third of the main living space (downstairs in my house is a hallway with stairs going up, an under-stairs loo, a small kitchen, and a large L-shaped room which is all kinds of living space. Upstairs is a smallish landing, front bedroom, back guestroom/study/craft space/dumping ground, and bathroom). The difference in "feel" is already marked. Hoping to get all of downstairs under control and fit to invite people into by the end of next week, doing the kitchen and downstairs loo myself and with the expert's help for the rest of the main space, and to have clear movement paths across the upstairs landing area even if the rooms remain cluttered (I would then plan to try & book another couple of sessions for upstairs in the winter). That feels possible, which it certainly didn't last week.
The service isn't cheap but so far I think it is TOTALLY worth it. Let's see how the rest goes...
I sort of think that I would love to be a decluttering expert.
DeleteGood for you, for realizing where you need help and just doing it! No sense in punishing yourself for something so fixable (and that's clearly in no way an issue of moral or personal worth; I mean, who cares if you get the domestic work done alone or with help?).
That sounds like a very smart move, and a worthwhile investment. If nothing else, spending some money is a way of reminding yourself that this really is important, and vastly increases the chances that you'll use the time allotted for the intended purpose. And having another person involved likely helps with focus.
DeleteAnd having even *some* clear/organized space can considerably improve mood/reduce stress. One of the few household projects I managed over the summer was the clear and reorganize the shelves that I face from my most common work spot on the couch. Even one shelf's worth of orderly books at exactly eye level turns out to be an enormous improvement (and I wasn't even really aware of the messy shelf bothering me).
(Which reminds me: I should try to work in more of such clearing as much as possible).
Interesting idea: to breathe in precisely the week when work speeds up! I did meditate and stretch before bed last night--something I so rarely do--and it was quite wonderful. I begin classes with a super long day tomorrow (three classes + a meeting that will probably be rather long), but I'm feeling pretty calm and prepared; I spent today just printing what needs printing, prepping for tomorrow, and getting organized, ish, on the service/admin front.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know what my plan for the week is, other than to set a good tone for the rest of the semester. Exercise will be in a bit of a funny place due to weather and the fact that I'm doing my first ever organized run (4 miles!) on Saturday, but otherwise, I do want to be off to a calm and collected--and ORGANIZED--start. Do you see a theme?
My concern is not making time for writing/research this semester. I'm actually hoping to get to a place where I can take a bit of a break on that front, but first I need to finish preparing the manuscript.... But maybe I'll save the remainder of my ruminations for my official goal-setting post!
Breath is important to me this week because I have developed a case of persistent hiccups. They subside when I'm teaching (which is good) and sometimes when I'm eating (but not always). So far, they have also subsided when I sleep, thank goodness I'm only on day two, but it's pretty miserable, and I fear they will continue. I also think I might have a mild case of shingles, and I wonder if there is a connection. I already had an appointment with my doctor on the books for tomorrow, so I'll be able to speak to her about everything, I hope. But I hear the hiccup meds are kind of nasty, so if they continue, I will probably seek acupuncture.
ReplyDeleteDifficult to think about TLQ and metaphorical breathing space when I'm struggling with literal breath.
Ugh! Both sound highly unpleasant. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
DeleteOh, dear. Hiccups, like coughing, can get really tiring after a while. Hope the doctor (and/or acupuncturist) has a solution.
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