Beth's Ponderings
How would you
describe the course of your daily life?
Some (myself
included at times) would say it is a roller-coaster with dramatic ups and
sometimes even more dramatic lows, with twists and turns, and unexpected
moments that turn you completely upside down, but the biggest feature is that
there is no speed control as you barrel along gong faster and faster.
Others may describe
their lives as a spiral which turns around and around, but you have no idea if
you are going up or down, or both directions at the same time.
Another favourite
description is the hamster wheel, where you feel like you are running as fast
as you can but you’re just spinning the wheel and going nowhere fast.
And, we’re all
familiar with the “so many steps forward, so many steps back” version - another
one I’ve used often - which can either have slow forward motion or backward
motion depending on which side of the equation has the larger number of steps.
This summer I heard
that it is healthier to live our lives as a lemniscate (aka sideways figure 8
or the infinity sign ∞). It is the natural motion that bees, as well
as other insects and animals, follow.
The lemniscate is a
balanced symbol - there are no extremes, left and right are equal, one side isn’t
longer than the other, the distance to the top and bottom are the same as from
the middle to the outer sides, and while it appears that one is going over the
same territory in a never-ending (infinite) loop, each time is different as a
greater degree of balance, calmness and clarity are obtained.
Walking in the lemniscate
pattern provides a great meditation for mental, emotional and physical
relaxation. It is a pattern that just
comes naturally to young children, so why do we forget it as adults?
Drawing a
lemniscate with your finger over your heart, or around your eyes (circle each
eye and cross at the bridge of your nose) is healing, calming, and it relieves stress as it brings
balance to the body and brain.
Beth
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