‘No matter what gets in the way or which way the wind does blow… I’ll just sit here and watch the river flow.’ ~ Bob Dylan
Life can get so fast-paced and competitive, and we get so anxious to reach the destinations, that we forget to appreciate and enjoy the JOURNEY. In relation to this, I wanna share this lovely post by Leo Babauta from Zen Habits.
Have you ever felt that we are rushing through life, that we get so caught up in busy-ness that life is passing us almost without notice?
I get this feeling all the time.
The antidote is simple: sitting and watching.
Take a minute out of your busy day to sit with me, and talk. Take a moment to imagine being in the middle of traffic — you’re driving, stressed out by the high amount of traffic, trying to get somewhere before you’re late, angry at other drivers who are rude or idiotic, completely focused on making your way through this jungle of metal on a ribbon of asphalt. Now you’ve gotten to the end, phew, you made it, wonderful, and you’re only a few minutes late … but did you notice the scenery you passed along the way? Did you talk to any of the other people along your path? Did you enjoy the ride?
No, probably not. You were so caught up in getting there, in the details of navigating, in the stress of driving, that you didn’t have time to notice your surroundings, the people nearby, or the wonderful journey. This is how we are in life.
Now imagine that you pulled over, and got out of the car, and found a grassy spot to sit. And you watched the other cars zoom by. And you watched the grass blown gently by the wind, and the birds making a flocking pattern overhead, and the clouds lazily watching you back.
Sit and watch.
We don’t do this, because it’s useless to do something that isn’t productive, that doesn’t improve our lives. But as Alan Watts wrote in The Way of Zen:
“As muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone, it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of the best possible contributions to a world in turmoil.”
It’s interesting, too, what we see when we sit and watch. We will notice others rushing, and worried, and angry, and in them see a mirror of ourselves. We will notice children laughing (or crying) with their parents, and remember what we’re missing when we rush to improve our lives.
More interesting is what you see when you sit and watch yourself. You learn to step outside yourself, and act as an observer. You see your thoughts, and learn more about yourself than you ever could if you were rushing to take action. You see your self-doubts, and self-criticism, and wonder where they came from (a bad incident in childhood, perhaps?) and wonder if you are smart enough to let them go. You see your rationalizations, and realize that they are bullshit, and learn to let those go too. You see your fears, and realize what hold they have over you, and realize that you can make them powerless, by just sitting and watching them, not taking action on them.
By sitting and watching, you come to know yourself.
You learn the most valuable lessons about life, by sitting and watching.
And as we know from the observer effect in physics, by watching, we change what we watch.
Take a few minutes today, to sit and watch. It might change your life.
Actually I have so little going on for me that all I really do is sit by and watch the time go. If anything I wish I did it less.
ReplyDeleteWell, maybe you should do something.. like read books, start a garden or go out with friends. Hehe.. I honestly think it's good to just sit for a little while, and just watch the leaves fall and the grass dance, appreciate the little things. But of course, it's not very advisable to do that all the time. :)
DeleteRefreshing nga ito. Sit and do nothing. Reflect. And think about your life. I do this often, especially on weekends. Thanks for the share. :)
ReplyDeleteYou're welcome, aiza. :)
DeleteSit and watch. Two simple and mundane acts of all human beings. But in this entry, sitting and watching are given importance, somewhat valuable in nature. This is true. Who I am today is the result of my constant sitting and watching. :)
ReplyDeleteMy mom and I sit in restaurants and "people watch". It's quite fun, we watch the people walking passed the restaurant and comment on how strange the poor sods are. :D
ReplyDeleteSo yes, I agree with Sitting and Watching it's good for the soul indeed :P
I like the post so much! I sometimes also think that we miss the most important moments in life. Life consists of the most valuable events of our life and pauses between them. During these gasps we learn something from our life and surrounding, improve ourselves and enjoy life! Unfortunately, most people forget to enjoy life..
ReplyDeletedoes sitting and watching and making lait count? =)
ReplyDeleteThis makes me think that my being lazy has it's own merits!!! Hahaha. Just kidding. This is so true. We should stop, watch and listen... We're doing the world a favor by doing it.
ReplyDeleteI love doing that sit and watch. Whenever, I go out of town or out with friends, I take so little picture because I want to enjoy the moment. I know pictures will help me remember them but I'd rather remember the moment in my mind and ask somebody to take pictures for me. hehe.. I already gave up living a competitive life. It made me so stressed that I ended up hating my life. I like what have now, relax, laid back, just giving in to the flow life and enjoy everything on the process.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing ms. leah!
Of course. You're welcome, Mayen. :)
Deletesometimes sit watch then think is a better way to re-arrange things in life somehow, to reflect and gain back positive energy. friends help us remind that life is beautiful, that we are grateful to have them back those years. let's just take sometime to think back of moments what we did and what we want to do more, look back and reflect. enjoy life as it is!! cheers ate leah!! hehehe if there is competition, i hope it is a healthy competition that we won't hurt anybody!!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteTake a break. Sit, watch and relax.
You're welcome! :D
DeleteSana magawa kong mag sit and watch ngyn, hehe! busy busyhan ang mode ko now..
ReplyDeleteSlapped me. I dunno but yes, most of the time I feel like the clock of life is ticking fast beneath my ears.
ReplyDelete.
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But what caught me to read this is you quoting Bob Dylan at first. I simply love the guy.
Yeah.. Bob Dylan's a great guy! :)
DeleteGot to love dep metaphors and spiritual quotes. :3
ReplyDeleteAlso, you said there was no slogan in the header? It's in the bottom right of it, in light-grey text. What browser are you using? Do you have javascript disabled?
Oh, it's showing now, Fang.. Must be the slow connection, but I see the slogans now.. Wow, sorry it took me this long to reply to your comment. But... hmm.. I think I dropped a comment on your blog regarding this.. did I?
DeleteAmen! I sort of wrote a little something about going with the flow these days. But THIS - this is exactly what I needed to hear. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteIt's like your aging without knowing it, and then you'll just waking up in the morning and seeing yourself in front of the mirror with shocked because you got wrinkles and dead cells below your eyes. Geez! I hope life treats me well this time.
ReplyDeleteI feel for you! We are "living in the now" and it's such an awesome ride!
ReplyDeleteSit and watch. I like that. Thanks for reminding me.
ReplyDeleteFunny how how the simple things in could really mean big unexpectedly. Life is such an exciting movie.
ReplyDeleteYup sometimes it is good to just sit and watch, ung parang naka tingin kalang sa kawalan, without worries or anything....relaxing! ( basta huwag lang tatawang mag isa neh,,hehe joke)
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing, great one!
We all need to pause and enjoy every idleness of life. It adds the anxiety to keep going everyday and never give oneself the chance to breath freely from the demands of the world.
ReplyDeleteAccording to Gary Rogers:'Everyone only goes around the track once in life, and if you don’t enjoy that trip, it’s pretty pathetic.'
Sit + do nothing = sleep. ^_^
ReplyDeleteMeaningful quotation . Simple words that has a strong impact.
ReplyDeleteThis is true. Nothing to say but to agree
i've been sitting and reflecting for a long time.. haha.. kaya nga im still single at 35 kasi nag enjoy na ako "sitting and watching" don't want to get out of my comfort zone yet feeling ko im not ready yet! hehe.. in time.. in time.. thanks for this post! ;)
ReplyDeleteI thought that zen is all about organizing but it is more like teaching our life to be organized, thanks for this post leah
ReplyDeleteI think after sitting and watching...acting should be the next thing to make change happen. Have a nice day!
ReplyDeleteSa wakas ubas, may nakita na rin akong makakapag justify sa pinaka paborito kong gawin, sit and watch, pero most of the time sit, watch, and eat, mas masarap yun n_n
ReplyDeleteSalamat dito mam, ang sarap basahin.
Oh this is such a nice read. Thank you so much for sharing. There's so much going on in my life right now that I long for a quiet time to just sit and watch. :)
ReplyDeleteI love this post... I agree.. sometimes we just need to sit and watch... just let our thoughts come and go... and be aware...
ReplyDeleteSit and watch is the way to go for me these days =).
ReplyDeletei miss my me-time...
ReplyDeleteI remember the old song, "As Tears Go By" for there's a line there that says" "I SIT and WATCH as tears go by." What else could we do, if we are caught flat footed. What else could we do, when we're hopeless, broken-hearted. Of course, sit and watch.
ReplyDeleteJust want to share the acronym BUSY
ReplyDeleteB - Burried
U - Under
S - Satans
Y - Yoke..
When everybody is busy and does not have time for God. It will mean as above..
This is very true. Everything becomes a blur 'cause we're living in a very fast-paced life. Thanks for sharing this. It somehow serves as a reminder to just stop, learn and appreciate life more in a pace we want.. :)
ReplyDeleteI usually do this.
ReplyDeleteWe always need to stop and smell the roses ... its needed to survive life.
ReplyDeleteAprub, we all lead busy lives especially here in the city and it's just greatr to just sit back, relax and watch the world go by. Wouldn't it be nice if everyone did that kahit minsan lang? I'm sure we'll all feel great right after.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting. It hits me hard. Yeah...it's very true that we always hurry in so many things that we don't take time to pause to appreciate the wondrous things happening around. It's time for me to sit back...and watch...and learn...
ReplyDeleteBeing an observer always give you fresh insights on things and life in general. You learn to appreciate what was happening around you. Watch and learn.
ReplyDelete