On July 4, 1845, Henry David Thoreau moved into his cabin by Walden Pond, turning away from the busy world around him to seek the deeper
wisdom within him,
"I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately," he said, "to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it head to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived" (1999, p. 72)
Long before research revealed the harmful effects of chronic stress, Thoreau knew that living at a frantic pace injures us at a deep level. He called this life "quiet desperation" (1999, p. 5). It is far more desperate for busy men and women today.
How can we "live deliberately" in today's mechanistic, multitasking culture of incessant demands, distractions, and 24/7 interruptions? It's hard to be fully present, to even breathe deeply, for stress shuts down our immune systems and impairs essential bodily functions. As Thoreau wrote, we become reactive, with "no time to be anything but a machine" (1999, p. 3).
As a writer, I love words, find it fascinating that
REACTIVE and CREATIVE
are so similar visually, yet such polar opposites. Moreover, creativity offers us a key to freedom, keeps us from being reactive.
The creative life is countercultural. Creative artists are subversive--they're often seen as eccentric. Transcending the relentless pace of mundane duties and demands, they live by their own natural rhythms, dance to the beat of "a different drummer" (Thoreau, 1999, p. 258).
Here are some ways to live more creatively, more deliberately, breaking free of the stress reaction to follow your own inner rhythms:
- Take time each day to set your intentions. Get back in touch with your own values and priorities.
- Unplug periodically during the day. Make time for daily meditation. Pause between tasks to take a deep breath and reflect on your intention. Take a walk at lunch, look at the sky, feel your feet on the ground. Remember that you're part of a much larger pattern.
- Pause for a few moments at the end of the day to reflect on what you're grateful for. Studies have shown that a simple gratitude practice can decrease your stress and increase your energy, enthusiasm, well-being, and sense of meaning (Emmons & McCullough, 2003).
- Give yourself a weekly Sabbath--a half day or even a couple of hours to slow down, unplug, follow your heart, and live in the joy of the present moment.
Like Thoreau, you, too, can transcend the world of "quiet desperation" to open your heart to life's deeper meanings.
References
Emmons, R. A. & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 377-389.
Thoreau, H. D. (1999). Walden. New York, NY: Signet Classics. Originally published 1854.
