53 Seconds

Posted byRebecca BuddPosted inFavourite Places, Gardens, Meditation, Peace, Summer Gardens, VancouverTags:, , ,

53 Seconds of Meditation.

Meditation has been defined as engaging in mental exercise, breathing deeply and repeatably so as to reach a special and elevated understanding of our place in the fast-paced, mercurial world that surrounds us.

Reflections, pondering or whatever you believe meditation to be – definitions are easier than the practical application. Simply because of our time-constraints and responsibilities. Our minds are active throughout the day, and according to brain research, achieve heightened activity in sleep.

Today, this is my way of slowing down! Happy meditating.

Published by Rebecca Budd

Blogger, Visual Storyteller, Podcaster, Traveler and Life-long Learner

28 thoughts on “53 Seconds”

  1. Loved this post! We DO need to be reminded to “stop and breath” as life has a tendancy to overwhelm. The tyranny of the urgent can be best battled by those moments in which we rest and take time to remind ourselves of what our true priorities should be! Thank you for my 53 second meditation moment this morning!

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    1. “Tyranny of the Urgent” – what a brilliant way to describe the situations we find ourselves in are everyday interactions. It comes down to how we make decisions and choices. If you do a “google” search, there are several sources (none that appear fully vetted) that indicated that we make up to 35,000 per day that relate to seemingly mundane and ordinary choices. What we eat, wear, read, purchase, when we clean, shop, cook … and the list goes on. Meditating is a conscience choice that must somehow fit in to our daily routines. Thank you for joining me for 53 seconds!! Hugs!

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    1. Thank you, Liz!!! A couple of weeks ago I attended an information management conference. One of the speakers noted that 40 second videos are the most viewed, especially those involved with food preparation. We enjoy seeing a delectable dish being created within a few short seconds. We live in a world of many possibilities.

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      1. How fascinating, although perhaps I am not that surprised to hear this. I recognise in myself an impatience with any video longer than a few minutes. Ridiculous but true!

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  3. How true that practical application of meditation is often missing … and I hold up my hand here too!! This is just the perfect post for me this morning, Rebecca … cascade of flowers and their beauty, settling the mind…sitting in traffic jam in the motorway and viewing your images calmed my mind and recalled a wonderful Saturday with friends visiting two gardens, picnicking by a lake, serenaded by singers! Happy Sunday … keep mediating and sharing your harmony! 🤗

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    1. Thank you, Annika for stopping by and sharing the moment with me. Even though we are an ocean apart, there is a closeness that comes with “blogger miles” – they are the shortest distance to friendships. A couple of years ago I visited Klausbernd and Hanne, just a fews weeks after you were there. They took us to a field full of sunflowers. We walked through the fields and listened to the soft wind through the leaves. There is something about gardens and flowers that remind us that we belong to the earth.

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  4. I’m sitting on my front porch on a lazy Sunday morning watching the birds at my feeder listening to them chatter to each other and smelling the strawberry plant hanging to my right. Thank you for reminding me that all this is my meditation for the morning. Lovely lovely photos.

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    1. I’m coming over to your place. Whenever I think of summer afternoons, I think of drinking ice tea on a porch with my grandparents. It was the tea without sugar or lemon. I remember having to acquire a taste for the it, but soon fell in love with the iced drink on a warm afternoon. What a great way to welcome the day – listening to the morning chorus! Lovely!

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      1. Ohhh, I love your memory. Our grandkids now sit with me on our front porch, with my (non-sugared but plenty of fresh lemon slices) iced tea. I hope I’m making memories for them now, too. ❤

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  6. What a wonderful suggestion,Rebecca, and effective remedy to block out the incessant seemingly never ending noise man has deemed necessary with which to live. Thankful I am for Marianne’s penchant for the magnificience of limitless flowers that graces our garden and solarium.

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    1. You are indeed fortunate, Jean-Jacques. You have a perpetual infusion of flowers – winter and summer. I love solariums – a great place to read and have conversations. I often think of the quote by Iris Murdock (what a great name to have) “People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy the whole time to have such things about us.” We live in a beautiful world…

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  7. To some point, I have been only meditating for the last few months. I haven’t seen any other person than a doctor 2 times and a nurse a few times, well, husband is here after work. Other than that, I start to feel I have too much and too long period of doing nothing. Not because I would like just sit around watching birds and plants in the backyard, but nobody ever stops by. I turn on the “Open” sign, and still nobody walks in. That’s is the main feature of this place. While meditating is a brilliant chance to get away from too busy life, it is kind of terrible to have a moment with nothing to do. That leads to too much thinking and that leads to too much wondering how is that even possible. Be happy if you are busy. We can only enjoy a rest when we are tired after a successful day of work, running around and dealing with chores. I would love that.

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    1. Good morning from Vancouver, Inese! Thank you for your insightful comments – you have provided a wonderful segue into the heart of the human experience. How do we define success? How to we participate in the wider conversation? How do we share our creative spirit? How do we create a compassionate community. We are defined by our work, but we all have the unique opportunity and responsibility to articulate what that “work” will be. This came home to me when I embraced early retirement from my “career” that spanned almost 3 decades: work that offered long hours filled with delicious complexities and vibrant teams that enriched my life. The moment I stepped into the next phase of life, I no longer “worked.” Planning and anticipating all the possibilities of retirement is one thing -but constructing the reality of what the coming years would be was a momentous undertaking. I recognized that I needed some form of “work” to feel complete, and involved – not only with others, but with myself. I think of the quote by Honoré de Balzac: “All happiness depends on courage and work.” I love how he positioned the two words – work & courage. Thank you for your visit and comments – you have given me much to consider!

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  8. Thank you, interesting that I have been reading about meditation.I am glad that you included flowers. Where better to meditate, than in a garden–a part of our beautiful world.

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    1. Thank you for joining me in my meditation! I agree – flowers, trees, nature are generous helpers in our efforts to realize balance within our lives.

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  10. Such a lovely place to meditate. I think any time spent just being with nature is meditation. I’m lucky to be able to do it every single day.

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    1. Nature has healing properties that calm the spirit and discourage anxious thoughts from entering its domain. I agree wholeheartedly – you are indeed fortunate to spend time in nature. I believe it is an act of survival when we chose to commune within nature. I love the quote by Thich Nhat Hanh: “Walk as if you are kissing the Earth with our feet.” Thank you for your visit – always a joy to see your comments.

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    1. Thank you so much for your visit and comments. By the way, I am really enjoying the Eleanor Roosevelt link. Fantastic! Hope you are having a wonderful summer. We are in a heat wave in Vancouver. Enjoying the warmth.

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