The Art of Being...Just Being!
/The Art of Being…Just Being!
So in a recent post I mentioned that I’d visited the National Gallery and slowly, consciously, considered the art that resonated with me. I mentioned how I considered the works closely and contemplated the artist applying the brush strokes that I now looked upon, many, many years later.
Today, I thought I’d spend a few moments reflecting on why this simple act was so empowering and invigorating for me and how similar acts of ‘just being’ in the moment providing the means to contemplate things can have a profound impact on your sense of wellbeing and equanimity. My trip to the National Gallery and how I slowly moved around the gallery with a quiet, purposeful, non-judgemental intent provided the means of:
Being with myself and my thoughts.
Excluding all and every pressure in the outside world or inner self for that period of time.
Giving me the luxury of time that is fundamentally good for the soul.
I found that it was akin to meditation and focus on the breath. My meditation focused on the art, the brush strokes, the imagery, the passion of the artist…and in so doing it centred my body and mind into that moment - stimulating a feeling of both calm and connectivity.
Outside distractions were eliminated - as with good meditation. I would hear sounds and recognise activities of others circulating through the gallery, but as with good meditation, I acknowledged these external stimuli (sometimes with a smile or a nod) and returned to that central place to my ‘breath’ and a focus.
I have often wandered through galleries, looking on at favourite works. But this conscious act of purposefully moving slowly through the gallery and pondering each work, provided so much more for me. I would often leave a gallery in awe of the beauty and creativity of humans, but this time I left with an added sense of symmetry and balance, an energy deep inside, and a calmness - the type that really only ever comes from mediation.
I can but advocate for this slow art - take a trip to the gallery and consciously, purposefully, slow your movement through each room. You don’t need to consider each and every work - I skipped some and focused where it mattered for me.
Try it as an alternative to a meditation session or just to reboot and put a brake on the day or the week.
