Taking a Pause

I took a day to read, all day. It was delicious and beneficial. シ

If you choose to listen, thx for bearing with the swish sounds. Note to self Rylla; don’t wear crisp cotton blouse when recording. シ

Recently the years of mindfulness practice seem to be bearing sweet fruit. As I have slowed down in my life, stopped judging my days according to what I got done, a gentle calm has seeped in. While not always there, it shows itself much more than it used to, gently reminding me to relax, not take things so seriously, to trust myself to do what I want, all will be well.

A while ago I watched a movie where one of the characters did nothing but read all day.¹ I don’t remember so much about the plot, but I do remember feeling a little jealous of his reading all the time. He didn’t talk much, but when he did, he had wise words to share.

I think the idea came to me then. What would it be like to read all day? A few weeks ago I was talking with my son-in-law and mentioned that I’d like to try that, reading all day. I don’t remember what he said, but I do remember his gentle smile seemed to say he understood that longing.²

So, recently on a day I had no yoga or appointments I did it. I read in the morning, I read at lunch, and I read after lunch. I did some other things around the house, did some yoga, walked to the store, cooked a nice lunch, and savored doing all of those things. I didn’t get on social media. In the evening my husband and I didn’t watch Netflix or YouTube, but played music as we fixed and ate dinner. Then I did some more reading, and went to bed.

There’s nothing stellar about this idea; nothing fabulous about doing it. And yet…somehow taking a whole day of no screens was incredibly rejuvenating. Time stretched just a little. The day didn’t seem long, just savorable.³

It felt like recharging the batteries in my body and in my head; I think my head especially was longing for space.

I thought it would be hard to read all day; that I would miss getting on social media or miss learning what was going on in the world. But it wasn’t hard and I didn’t miss anything. I knew it would all still be there.

There’s a process to learning to slow down. First I had to let go of the part of my head that tells me if I’m not doing/accomplishing something I am worthless. Then I got to let go of needing to know about everything everywhere all of the time.⁴ Then I had to give myself permission to do what I wanted all day long, which was read a lot. It felt so decadent.

The next day, I went back to what I suppose has come to be “normal” but it wasn’t the same. I was a bit more aware of when I was about to look at a screen, and I didn’t stay on as long as I might have before. I felt more at choice which felt good.

Turns out taking a day wasn’t decadent. It was restorative. It fed my soul. It inspired the rest of my week, inspired this writing, reminded me what it is to live rather than just get through another day.

All that from taking a day to read? Wow, seems sort of simple. The results were and still are palpable.

So what do you think? What would you like to do for a whole day? Will you do it? Are you willing to pause in your life, throw caution to the wind, and give it a try?

1. The movie was “The Bookshop,” 2017. The reader was portrayed by Bill Nighy. Recommend. シ

2. I’m glad I told him about the thought. Somehow saying it aloud makes it much more likely to happen.

3. I know, not a word…but it does get across what I felt.

4. Have you heard “Welcome to the Internet” by Bo Burnham? My favorite lines are: “Could I interest you in everything, all of the time, a little bit of everything, all of the time? Apathy’s a tragedy and boredom is a crime…”