Random moment of quiet mind

[TransistorBass]

I should have had today off work for Easter Friday & Monday bank holidays, ended up doing a load of work at some business premises we are renovating.
Sat outside for lunch eating pastry based things from the UK's premiere high street shop Greggs, drank my Dr Pepper and stared blankly at my surroundings, to my surprise there was NOTHING going on in my head just stillness, quiet and calm in the sunshine.

I wish I could get that sort of stillness in Yoga etc.

Makes you believe that hard work is key to a quiet mind.

 

[blig-blug]

What was the dose of Dr Pepper? Sounds promising

Jokes aside, I'm glad you could have a moment like that. They seem to come out of nowhere. But your yoga and your other practices may have contributed to it appearing as well. Also, not deciding to use a phone to fill a moment of nothing to do.

 

[Pandora]

I wish that was true for me. I routinely work 10 to 18 hours a day 365 days a year.

There's still plenty in my head but it's like I have dementia after a couple days of this. My thoughts are scattered and I cannot name common objects in my environment.

But I literally pass out hard within seconds of my head hitting the pillow. Though I do wake up in the middle of the night due to issues like pain it is a blessing to be able to very easily fall asleep every single night of the year.

I admire what you have achieved as it does seem to be part of the path to what folks call enlightenment.

 

[Transform]

I should have had today off work for Easter Friday & Monday bank holidays, ended up doing a load of work at some business premises we are renovating.
Sat outside for lunch eating pastry based things from the UK's premiere high street shop Greggs, drank my Dr Pepper and stared blankly at my surroundings, to my surprise there was NOTHING going on in my head just stillness, quiet and calm in the sunshine.

I wish I could get that sort of stillness in Yoga etc.

Makes you believe that hard work is key to a quiet mind.

Sure it wasn't the beginnings of a lard-induced coma from your Greggs products?

But seriously, maybe it was a moment of gratuitous grace from the universe, although a reasonable level of physical exercise is known to have beneficial effects on mood so your hypothesis seems plausible.

 

[Pandora]

And due to my endless hard work at this old age an AI told me I will have 10-20 years less of lifetime. So the voice in my head telling me I will drop dead soon from this (I try to just let it go to shut it up) may be correct.

TRUE hard work is unknown by most and is RADICALLY OVERRATED.

 

[WallyG]

And due to my endless hard work at this old age an AI told me I will have 10-20 years less of lifetime. So the voice in my head telling me I will drop dead soon from this (I try to just let it go to shut it up) may be correct.

Pandora. 57 is not old. Though it may be a bit old for such a punishing work schedule. Can you not ease up just a bit?

 

[Pandora]

I cannot. I am a small business owner in a state with predatory taxes (technically 60% but less since I can claim expenses and mileage) towards small businesses so that big business and rich, lazy dudes don't have to pay a dime. And my rent is high. I only eat one meal a day, never use heat and am generally fairly frugal. I am barely scraping by. Before this I worked constantly while taking as close to full time care of my ailing/dying husband as possible. Back then for years I only slept 2-4 hours a night. The moment he died all his income streams ended. I tried hard to get a job, had several interviews and learned just how misogynistic this country is - no one is hiring older women here. No one. I started this business as a literal hail mary to avoid death on the mean streets.. If I "ease up" I don't eat or my cats don't eat or I miss rent. This is not acceptable.

In fact I need to push ever harder to get new customers and bring real, spendable income levels up, as well as keep Big Brother off my back as I continue to shovel wheelbarrels worth of taxes into the hands of the rich.

I agree 57 is not old but it is not young. This punishing schedule is exhausting . . . I wake up tired. And if I will loose 10-20 years it's like I'm already 67-77. Not feeling great about the prospects on that front. I have to just hope that the constant exercise, the constant exposure to sweet animals, the infrequent weed use and the lameness of current AI's means this is something I can ignore/disregard.

Nonetheless I stand by my statements that I admire what the OP achieved and also that REAL hard work is radically over-rated.

 

[WallyG]

My heart goes out to you Pandora.

 

[TransistorBass]

The Dr Pepper was sugar free, tasted a bit weird to the regular ;-)

I'm usually quite good at avoiding my phone, I had sunshine so no need to doom scroll.

Lard-induced states normally give me indigestion, I don't normally dine at Greggs who don't do Oat Milk for my Tea!

I'm early 50's and feel like I just have to keep going, many aches and pains, the most recent is fingers locking up in pain and a day's hard work makes everything worse, I'm regularly questioning my ability to work and wondering if I worked for someone else rather than myself would I cope?! Having the expectation of an employer hanging over me isn't something I want.

Yoga time this morning so I'll try channel my calm from yesterday.