THE sanity plan

In her fantastic novel, A Mountain of Crumbs, Elena Gorokhova wrote: “Don’t sink into the quick sand of the ordinary”.

In the context of this entry, I would shorten it to: Don’t sink.

Some of us, as we grow older, we file our soul against the hands of Chronos.

In times, some people manage to polish their minds, regardless of the height of the bumps on the way. Thanks to this process, you end up with a personality that is serene, calm and simply delightful.

Others start off as very polished stones, shaped by the education of their families and the good values taught. Yet, as the ticking went by, and the road became tragically busy, we collect, gather bumps, and they clot to your surface as a rough edge, filled with anger, incomprehension and astonishment at how things changed. You now resemble a jagged stone, and have to decide whether you will keep growing, rolling down like a snowball sinking deeper every day, or whether you try to alleviate your weight, to stay on the surface.

The Turks have much wisdom in their saying, one being: “Kolay gelsin” – take it easy – Perhaps, this is one that could be considered.

In the past decade, much has been accumulated, but a new tendency sprung up: the one of becoming a paced person, capable of contemplating and more importantly, a better person to others.

The people I have met abroad have strongly helped this intention, and I am so thankful for them.

It seemed the only way to find a secure balance has been to create and consciously complete “THE SANITY PLAN”, with one main intention: to impact family and friends, and to soothe the mind – Kolay gelsin.

The intention is to be more mindful of the daily blessings and focus on each rough patch, whilst processing the scars as well as possible.

It all started with a great advice, from a dear friend, to keep a gratitude journal. A brilliant idea, as you start to see what truly matters.

After a few weeks, the implicit knowledge of what matters most becomes clearly redundant, as pages fill with the pattern of health, kinship, friendship, relationships and culture shines on.

In the past two years, when the cacophony of life became too loud to bear,

the desert and the Red Sea used to be the escape doors.

Having uprooted yet again, and being here, it is during a staff meeting that a possibility for brain salvation occurred.

Some of us are very prejudiced when certain words are pronounced, and “meditation” was one of them. After having had the chance to trial online, it appears that a daily 10 to 15 minutes is not such a chore, in order to become more aware of your thoughts and attempt to regulate them.

It provides you a chance to STOP for a few minutes and breathe, through a guided meditation, as you would hiking in the Sahara or breathing under water.

www.headspace.com

Once your mind is thankful and more focused, it felt that it was time to take care of the physical side.

Running.

Some run, others watch.

Watching is fun and much more enjoyable! Once you try, it is a strange cocktail of liking, from the chemicals released in your brain, and hating, because… running! Again, it takes training to remind the mind how fortunate one is, to be able to go out and run, or try to.

Running has become a routine, and challenges lie ahead, as a 10 km run looms ahead, in the gritty part of my future. Again, one must be thankful.

Finally, yoga.

Meet a wonderful lady, named Natasha.

In your spare time, despite the fact that none of us have any, time ought to be dedicated to meeting Natasha, the yoga instructor. As her soft British accent introduced her, she presents a clear and slow paced sequence to a “sun salutation”.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQK7O0QqgHQ

They say it takes 66 times to develop a new habit, and it is with pride that I can proudly say that she is now a habit in my life! It has even become a weekly training, thanks to the selfless kindness of a friend at work.

Yoga, despite the seemingly graceful videos, is a difficult activity, which requires much efforts and discipline but offers you the possibility on reflecting on your intentions and your connections with nature.

It appears that, through the sanity plan, one may find another way to dig in some roots.