Finding nothing time in the summer time

Aug 5, 2023 | Balance, Blog, Fire, For the Soul, Healing, Heart, Love, Qigong, Summer | 9 comments

We’re more than halfway through summer here in Alberta, Canada. What does the rest of August have in store for you? Or maybe I should ask, how do you wish to experience the month of August?

In our private community, Energy in Motion, we have been talking a lot about the heart, having an open heart, sending love from our hearts to others, learning how we can heal by sending love from our hearts, and loving all things and beings we come in contact with. The energy of love is so powerful it can instantly change the vibration of an interaction. And the beautiful thing is when we send love and healing to others, love and healing come back to us.

Heart energy has been front and centre in our teachings and practice because the element of summer is fire and the organ and meridians are the heart (and small intestine).

Yang is the predominant energy of summer; meaning heat, light, fire, activity, sweating, summer parties and barbeques, holidays, gardening and yard work, and being outdoors are great things to be doing at this time. In addition to these wonderful activities, many of us have jobs and other responsibilities, leaving little time left over for ourselves.

When thinking about having an open heart I also think of spaciousness. It’s difficult to have an open heart if your heart is hurt, angry, protecting, or fearful. Our Qigong practice helps us clear these blockages and supports the openness.

But sometimes my summer schedule gets so busy that I forget about sending love out or even making time for my practice. Does this happen to you too? I also feel this busyness makes time pass quickly.

When we are too busy it can be challenging to balance the yang with the yin. This leads me back to the bit about spaciousness. The yin energy still needs to be protected and nourished. It’s great to be busy, but in the busyness, it’s important to find time to connect to ourselves.

I have noticed that my body craves balance.

If I am too busy I crave stillness and quiet, and vice versa. My qigong practice has magnified these cravings and strengthened my intuition. But it’s hard not take advantage of the sun and heat! Summer is exciting!

As I move through August, I am setting an intention to not be ‘busy’.

I will still participate in the fun and activities, but my days will not be full. When I create space I connect to myself. In the past, I used busyness as a way to avoid being alone with myself. I didn’t know who I was and I felt lonely when I was alone without a planned activity. That’s when I would call someone and get busy doing while avoiding being. But now, through healing, self-awareness and self-acceptance (in-progress), I savour time alone.

Being busy makes us feel useful and productive, and maybe even successful. In today’s society, we tend to occupy every spare moment. When we are waiting in line, we are on our phones. We pick up our phones first thing in the morning to see how other people were busy while we slept. We eat dinner with others while our phones sit beside the plate, jumping to respond to any notifications. You get the picture.

Do phones make us feel more connected? I would argue they do the opposite.

We are losing our connection to ourselves by occupying all the moments with activity. So this leads me to my intention for August.

I plan on taking time each day to do nothing.

Think of the words taking time, killing time, making time, wasting time, stealing time…

During the nothing time, I will not be busy. I won’t be on my phone or computer. I won’t be visiting. I will be spending quiet time with myself. I may observe the lake or the birds, or I may read or meditate. The one thing I will do during the nothing time is send love from my heart to wherever it is needed. I may be breaking my do-nothing rule by doing this, but I want this to become part of my daily practice.

What do you think? Would you like to join me in this practice of not being busy during the month of August? Could you use a dose of this in your life? This is the theme in our private member’s community this month. You are welcome to join us in the discussion, conversation, and practice, or you can participate on your own. Please let me know in the comments any plans for nothing!

Much love and light,

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9 Comments

  1. Kim

    Hi Sue, Yes, include me in the practice of not being busy.

    Reply
    • Sue Crites

      You’re in Kim! August is going to be wonderful!

      Reply
  2. Nancy

    Yes, Sue, I am on board with the peace and quiet moments! Thank you for the reminder. I hope you have a wonderful August.

    Reply
  3. May Lundy

    Yes! I’m in

    Reply
  4. Barbara Clough

    Yes, I am in! I know I am too busy with many good things – learning more Qigong, beginner’s watercolor, family, friends with desperate needs for compassion, and my own health issues. How to let go and moderate some of the busyness will be a lifelong skill for me to develop.

    Reply
  5. Joan

    Hi Sue and all, this reminds me of an article from a few years ago by theater director Anne Bogart, The Business of Busyness.
    “I decided to simply stop using the words “I’m busy.” Not only did I stop saying “I’m busy,” but when anyone insists that I must be so busy, I deny it. “No, I am not busy.” What happened once I changed how I spoke was momentous. When I stopped saying “I’m busy,” I stopped feeling busy. And when I stopped feeling busy I stopped feeling tired. Perhaps busyness is a state of mind that is self-programmed, put into automatic drive and that profoundly affects the moment-to-moment experience of living. What I think about my life and how I describe my feeling about time passing in turn becomes my experience of time, becomes my reality.” https://siti.org/business-busyness/

    Reply
  6. Ellen Murphy

    I think this will be quite a challenge for me but I am willing to give it a go! Do you consider Qi Gong practice part of the busyness?

    Reply
  7. Shelley

    Encouraging words as I head into the woods next week and disconnect some. Thank you! Socializing is my energy giver at times, however as I embrace this chapter in my life I am experiencing the value of being intentional about the balance of alone time too. I love the quiet of “nothing” too. Much gratitude for this and the energy balancing my qigong practice offers me. Especially the intentional focus these summer weeks of the “I love you” practice. It truly has been transformational at the heart level!

    Reply
  8. Christy Bairey

    Yes, I too would like to join this group. I crave the alone time! Intentional alone time sounds wonderful to me.

    Reply

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