Tonight I set a timer for ten minutes and shut my eyes to dream. What I went through for those ten minutes was pretty miraculous and I’ll describe it for you.
At first I fidgeted quite a bit. Itched my nose. Licked my lips. Scratched itches. I had a lot of itches.
Then I focused on the noises around me. The sound of the highway out over Lake Washington. A bird chirping. The dog groaning. The whir of the fan on the floor.
Then it felt as if my mind was blank. I couldn’t focus on any one thought or dreaming at all. But there were so many thoughts it was hard to quiet the chaos.
Then I started to think about work situations that were stressing me out. And I caught myself getting wrapped up in imaginary conversations. I tried to steer my thoughts away from work but I was pulled back into them several times.
Then I thought of my friend Zoe and what an amazing positive woman she is. And I thought of writing her a note to tell her so. How it’s hard for me to stay positive and I appreciate that she’s so consistent in how she communicates and shares her love with the world.
Then I thought of an email that was actually important to me. And what I wanted to do about it. I had totally forgotten about it but the trail of thoughts led me there. I found something that mattered and that felt good.
Then I started to wonder how much time I had left. Not because I wanted the ten minutes to be over but because I wanted more time. I was actually getting somewhere. I convinced myself I had set the timer for the wrong time and sure enough I had. I went over the ten minutes.
What I learned was that in order to filter through the utter volume of thoughts and tasks and emails that happen in one day I’ve got to take these tens minutes to myself. Ten minutes was all it took to center me, to help me hone in on some things that really matter, and to clear my head.
Is this something I can build into my day? Do I have the time? I sure hope I have ten minutes. Because I don’t want to forget the things that are important. Like telling a friend I love them. Focusing on my mental health. Calming myself so I can be a good wife and mother.
I didn’t quite get to the dreaming part of this exercise. But maybe as I do it more I’ll find it easier to tap into that part of my soul more quickly. For now I’ll take this as a step in the right direction.
Why don’t you try ten minutes of dreaming for yourself? Let me know how it goes.
