Pause
For a moment each day, I let sadness settle,
then sweep it away with happiness.
For a moment each day, I listen to my body’s grievances,
and quench my thirst with water loved by lemon and cucumber.
For a moment each day, I hear my heartbeat.
For a moment each day, I observe the wind and distant bird songs.
For a moment each day - I pause.
Pause with me.
Your body tells you what your busy mind forgets.
Pause: Your body knows
A memo and a #poem to the world - from a place of love:
Good morning beautiful people
Glow in the middle of this western world. Stop the noise.
We get bombarded every day - by so many views, so many practices, so much preaching.
Ancient ones, modern ones - all made up by people. And often, somewhere in the shadows, money and survival come into play. So the preaching turns into a profession. Remember that.
Without true self-awareness - 24/7 - and a space devoid of a nominal value, we cannot offer unbiased advice to anyone. We cannot preach truth. Our journey is ours alone. Nobody can dance your steps. You live your life. Nobody else.
The questions are ours to ask. The answers are ours to give - through fearless vulnerability. Strip your soul naked. Observe. Rewire. And hope others one day do the same.
What is good for one, isn’t good for another. There is always a flip side to every coin.
Believe or don’t believe. But be inquisitive. The journey of evolution never stops.
It’s unlikely there’s an “end” point to our spiritual growth. Even the devil was once good. One can always lapse. The journey to constant kindness? Exhausting. Especially in a society of fast food, fast thought, fast spiritualism.
One thing is certain: none of us are alone in this. What you’ve felt, I’ve felt. We all look to intellectuals for the way - when the way is inside us.
Still, it is an honour to learn from others, to build on what they share. Someone I knew once said they studied philosophy “for the joy of it”. Such a noble sentiment. I thank them, even though I don’t know where they are now.
Aristotle said “Man is by nature a social animal”.
Ancient Greek spirituality gave us practices and philosophies aimed at self-knowledge, wisdom, and enlightenment - eudaimonia. Socrates urged us to “know thyself”, to reflect and live ethically. The Eleusinian mysteries invited initiatives to explore life, death, and rebirth through fasting and ritual. Pythagoreans combined math, music and philosophy to purify the soul and align with cosmic order. Stoics taught living according to nature and reason - courage, justice, temperance leading to ataraxia, tranquility. Neoplatonists sought soul’s ascent to the One through contemplation. Orphism whispered a liberation through music and ethical life. Gymnastics and physical discipline were paths to harmony of body and soul - a balance we sorely miss today.
Ancient Greek enlightenment wasn’t a formula - it was a blend: intellectual rigour, and questioning, ritual and purification, ethical living and self-control, contemplation and mystical union. It was about knowing oneself and living virtuously, as much as mystical experience.
And now? We seek shortcuts for our attention deficit modern lives. We don’t slow down. We don’t find satisfaction in the present moment. We want more and more. So, in the spirit of questioning - question it all.
Question yourself: Why do I believe this? Is this belief helpful? Am I absorbing it with an open mind or my ego? How do I change to become ethical and reflective? Am I led by ego? Do my actions harm others? Have I moved on from my past, or am I clutching it like a motherfucker?
Every single source - no matter the origin - points to pausing, reflecting, resetting.
What feels right for you? Your body knows. You need no preachers. You know. You were born with a miracle inside you.
Remove the noise. Listen to your silence.
Have you defined your own virtues? What holds you back from being a complete human?
I used to lack a voice - fear of reaction. Now I speak from self-awareness, without fear. It doesn’t matter if others agree or disagree. Disagreement helps us evolve, but does an opinion ultimately matter in my journey? No. It shouldn't matter in yours either.
If I speak through my own voice, and you filter me through yours - why would it matter? You’ll always see it through your own glasses.
Reflect: Have I acted in line with my virtues? What do I stand for?
Happiness is a fulfilled mind, spirit and body. Start with your body. Mind and spirit follow self-care.
Do you ever truly stop to listen to your body? Your thoughts?
Alone. Not in a group. Not with family or friends.
We get lost in noise and society’s lack of ethos. We get swept into the same rhythm.
Then we go to a “yoga” class hoping it will take us higher.
An hour alone in silence is well spent. But who can really stay silent and contemplative for an hour? Who can really stay with themselves? To really observe our breathing. To really observe our self. In silence. Alone. In solitude. Our truth is in us. All we have to do is silence the noise to hear it.
Don't listen to me. I'm just another human.
#poem #poetryislife #pause #selfawareness #simplethoughts #simplewords #simplemusic #poetrylovers #poetrycommunity #innerpeace