fitness

Finding Quiet

tracywaideboer

This month, I don’t feel like I have anything especially reflective or clever to say about fitness stuff.

I just got back from a period in Banff, where I attended a workshop and enjoyed my time isolated in the Rocky Mountains.

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Image Description: Sunset over the Rocky Mountains. Hard not to feel both in awe and at peace with views like these. 

While I was there, I fully allowed myself to exist in “The Bubble.” No news. Limited communication with the outside world. Limited mindless Internet browsing. And less coffee. (Gasp!)

I have to say, it was transformative.

It’s amazing what a little peace and quiet will do for your mental state.

Lately, I have felt the painful hum of current events more and more acutely. I have become more anxious about the state of the world, and those who seem to run it. Naturally, I’ve always been a very optimistic person and in the past, the gloom of current events tended not to bring me down as much as they have more recently. It’s as if the world’s worries feel more palpable to me.

Maybe it’s because I’m getting older? Or maybe it’s because things are getting worse? Who knows.

In any case, allowing myself to experience what was in front of me was just the thing I needed. I felt my spirits lift, my anxieties decrease, and my overall mental and emotional states improve. I felt a clearer sense of myself, what I value, and how I want to be in the world.

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Image Description: Overlooking Bow Falls in Banff National Park. Though it isn’t a steep waterfall, the force (and noise) were incredible. That sound of water rushing over rocks is one of my favourite sounds of all time. Like Mother Nature’s own white noise machine.

In coming back home, I want to find a way to maintain that peaceful state of mind—and I feel myself already worrying that it won’t last long.

Before I left, I was often pulled between several tasks at once, or just felt a general sense of NOISE in the back of my mind. I felt this intense need to hurry up, to keep the pace. I would lose entire weeks without realizing what even happened or what I’d done. Indeed, I have started incorporating a broader practice of mindfulness and meditation into my daily life. But there was something about feeling physically sheltered by mountains from the chaos of the world. It was just so quiet.

As I said, I don’t have anything particularly witty to share today. Only the hope that you too find time for peace, for quiet, and for yourself in this increasingly noisy world.

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Image Description: The misty Rockies in view past the Banff Centre. 
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Image Description: Walking through the woods alone. 
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Image Description: This deer grazed at my window every day! Usually around the same times, too. It felt miraculous to look out my window to see a deer (or a few deer) casually snacking

Published by tracywaideboer

You can find Tracy on Twitter and Instagram @tracywaideboer.

3 thoughts on “Finding Quiet”

  2. My 12 year old daughter wants to do this. She feels overwhelmed by all the news, especially around Las Vegas as we had been at the life is beautiful festival.

    She’s pretty wise. I’ll have to plan a remote weekend with her. Or turn off the Internet.

  3. I love this. Banff (and being in the mountains anywhere, really) is a calming place. And good for you for unplugging. To maintain a sense of peace anywhere, I practice meditation. If you don’t already do this regularly, I totally recommend the Insight Timer app. It’s free and is loaded with guided meditations that help calm the mind and bring a sense of peace. Here’s my post about meditation from a little while ago.
    https://fitisafeministissue.com/2017/06/06/meditation-anyone/

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