Feel Like I'm Leaving Home Again

I'll be honest, WA (Western Australia) feels like home to me.

So today, as we prepare to leave Perth and head back to Sydney, I feel like I'm leaving home again.

There is something about this country of Australia that is so appealing to me. Ever since I was a child, I wanted to visit, and on my first visit 4+ years ago, I felt like I was coming home.

And now, I have that same feeling here -- like this is where I belong.

Have you ever experienced that feeling of coming home to a place that "technically" isn't your home?

Lately I've been thinking a lot about the connectedness of everything, the butterfly effect, that sort of thing. We really are all the same -- we are made from the same stuff, and yet we act as though we are separate.

Right now, I'm also acutely aware that when I mentally judge or criticize anyone or anything, it's really just me who is being judged.

See? It really is all about me. LOL. But for you, it's all about you, and so on.

What's interesting to me is how we attempt to show our individuality -- we attempt to isolate ourselves -- with all these judgments. When I use the word judgment, I don't mean a judge and jury.

I mean everyday judgments like I like this sweater (called a "jumper" in Oz), I don't like those shoes, I like that guys hair, I shouldn't have said that, he has nice pecs, she looks a little trampy, that kid is annoying me, this tastes good, etc.

All day, every day, that is what we do. We judge. We made judgments about what we like, don't like, and what should be this way or a different way. What is good/bad, right/wrong, pleasing/displeasing.

Right now, I'm judging: Leaving Perth is not good. I want to stay. I don't feel like going back to Sydney right now. I hate packing. I don't want to put all this crap away. These pants make my butt look weird. And on and on and on.

Did you know that one form of meditation involves simply being...without judgment? You notice everything with your five senses, and you just notice, without judgment. I believe it's called conscious meditation. (If I'm wrong there, go ahead and post a comment with the "right" term for it. And be aware that you just made another judgment about "right/wrong." See how pervasive it is?)

It's a profound experience, and one I'm exploring more and more often. And I highly recommend it.

Your QoD:
Do you find it difficult to take a few minutes a day to be still? What are some of the benefits you think you might experience if you could be still for a just a few minutes every day?

Go for it.