The Happiness of Rowing Gently
“Row, row, row your boat
Gently down the stream,
Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily;
Life is but a dream.” ~English Nursery Rhyme
Here’s a happiness hint for the holidays: Whenever you hear the word “merry,” remember the wise counsel of the children’s song, and slow yourself down to a gentle row.
The hustle and bustle of preparations can so easily turn from moments of delightful participation in the holiday’s spirit to feelings of pressure and distress. We tend to set before ourselves so many additional tasks and such high expectations that it’s easy to feel pressured and overwhelmed.
We fall into the trap that I call “looking at the mountain.” We see the entire heap of things that we want to get done all in one piece—do the shopping, put up the tree, hang the lights, write the cards, buy the stamps, bake the cookies, plan the dinner, pick up the dry cleaning, take Johnny to rehearsal, clean the house–and it looms before us as an enormous mountain that we have to climb. And all this to celebrate a season of peace and joy!
The secret to climbing out of the trap is to move your focus from the mountain to the one thing that you are doing now. Just that, the one thing. Give yourself to it and allow it to engage your attention.
My friend Cristina over at The Benefits of Positive Thinking taught me a great little practice she calls, “This is me doing,” that works wonders for bringing you into the present. You simply describe to yourself what you are doing: This is me, paying attention to my driving, feeling the warmth from the car’s heater, hearing the music on the radio. This is me, scraping off the plate and placing it in the dishwasher. This is me, opening the refrigerator and reaching for the mayonnaise.
Once you’re in the present moment, you reconnect with your power because the present moment is the only one in which you can act. You can’t act yesterday, or ten minutes from now. The past and future are only ideas in your mind. When you give your attention to your actions, you perform them easily and well, one gentle motion at a time. You relax and your senses come alive. You develop a rhythm, a flow. You’re rowing gently on time’s river, savoring the scenery as it floats past.
That’s where the peace is, and the joy—it’s right in the moment, right now. So be there, rowing gently and merrily down the stream. And have yourself a holiday season brimming with delight, one sparkling moment at a time.
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