Trading Clutter for Clarity: The Power of Five Minutes with the Sky
“Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with your feet.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life
When the modern world pushes us off-center, we can find strength by sky gazing to re-connect. In the mornings, I take the long way around the school building where I teach. The sun is just rising when I arrive. As I walk from the parking lot, I slow my steps down and notice my breath. Gazing up at the merging of pinks and oranges, I am thankful for the play of light and color, and the cool, fresh feeling of the wind on my face. I can listen to the rustle of my footsteps striding through the grassy school yard. Whatever concerns I have recede for minute. It may sound simple, but it works remarkably well at centering me for the day ahead.
From an astrological point of view, Dane Rudhyar explains,
Too often we simply forget that we need these simple uncluttered moments. Young people today especially need this, spending far too much of their developing years just inches from a glowing screen. Add to this the research about the benefits of the quality of light at dawn and dusk and its positive effects on our health, sleep, and circadian rhythm and there are powerful reasons to seek the sky.
“We take ourselves so damn seriously,” my 92 year old mentor always tells me, “why?” From that space in between land and sky we receive a special kind of spiritual chiropractic adjustment, putting us back into correct relationship with the divine order and the correct scale of things, even if only by incremental adjustments. Deprived of regular adjustments for too long, we are more prone to lose our sense of perspective and our balance. But seeking out time with the sky, with sunsets, and sunrises, I tend to find that even five to ten minutes a day during the transition between day and night is a noticeably restorative.
We can create a similar moment any time of day through other mindfulness practices, but the convenience and ease of gazing out at the moving clouds, moon, sun, planets, or stars cannot be beat. Wherever you are, the sky is there above you. If the world’s problems (or my own personal ones) feel all-consuming, it is just a few steps to the nearest door to look up and out and remember there is a much larger story playing out above.
What mindfulness practices or daily habits provide you with peace and strength during a busy day?
Resources
NPR - Health Benefits of Natural Light
NPR - Spiritual Practices from Diverse Backgrounds
Nice piece ! Need to be more mindful of sunrises and sunsets! They are so thought provoking!