The Sabbatical

The Sabbatical

September 2010

By K Gitanjali

This sunday put your chores aside, and do nothing for some time. Being with yourself, even for a short while, has amazing results

I woke up to a ‘doing nothing’ kind of a day a few Sundays back. I woke up quite early, but found that I just could not do anything. A combination of reasons led to this lackadaisical attitude. I had slept well, and a beautiful serenity flooded my being. It made me averse to starting my day, rushing from one chore to another. In addition, I was quite fed up of running from pillar to post, tired of the cooking, cleaning, and even the serving. I just wanted to be – nothing in particular – just be myself.

Therefore, I plonked myself on a comfortable sofa, with a good cup of tea. I was a Zen master for a moment, as I thoroughly relished my tea, each sip, absorbing the flavour, the sweetness, and the warmth it gave me, as it spread inside me. Maybe this made me even more relaxed. I just let myself go, and slipped into a fully relaxed state, where I just was. I was not bothered by the dirty dishes in the sink, and the clothes that needed to be put into the washing machine. What did I do as I sat with myself? Nothing in particular. I allowed myself to go where my thoughts led me, and absorb whatever my senses offered. I was being just whosoever I wanted to be, as each moment showed up.

It was only later that I realised that I had let myself go. Let the ego drop. Was this meditation? I wouldn’t know. All I knew was that when I was ready to come back to the practical world about an hour later, I was all set to take on all the chores that were waiting for me.

 

The true meaning of observing a day as the day of the Sabbath is about allowing yourself to be with your higher self, letting go, letting your ego drop for a while, and letting your right brain come to the forefront.

Once you do that, you can come back to find a balance between being and doing, and can get back to the daily grind refreshed. It is almost like taking a vacation without paying through your nose for it.

Though I started this on a Sunday, I find that it sometimes helps a lot when I just take off on Saturday evenings.

Saturday evenings are ‘no-cooking’ time or my time out with myself. Either someone in the family takes on the responsibility of rustling up a meal, or we find some alternative, but that evening is one time I don’t like to enter the kitchen. I prefer to be with myself, doing nothing in particular, or something I enjoy doing. It may appear selfish at first, but in the end, you find that it works well, as long as you too fill in for the other members of the family, when they want their sabbatical.

Once you have your own evening off, you find that you have enough energy to tackle all that the following week has in store for you. Small wonder why one of the Ten Commandments is that one should observe the Sabbath – a day of rest given totally to God or the self.

K. Gitanjali is a teacher, writer, and healer currently based in Bangalore. She is a disciple of Mahavatar Babaji. Contact:k.geethanjali05@yahoo.com