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The best writing prompts open worlds of possibilities, generate questions to consider, and prod the writer’s mind into areas previously unexplored. This month’s question, what do we do to stay centered, sure hits all those marks for me. I’ve heard this word “centered” often. Pretty much anyone who pursues spiritual endeavors seems to know what it means to be centered or grounded. Even I, at the very first, thought I had the answer to the question at ready disposal – I go for a walk in Nature.
It didn’t take long for me to think of a myriad other ways that I use to “center” myself. I hug trees, I sing, I pet my pets, I nurture my plants, I finish my to-do list, I do a crossword puzzle or I hit publish on a post. Pretty much anything I accomplish, large or small, gives me a moment of calm open brightness, a fullness of being, a moment of peace. The question then became, do I have to do something to center myself? Is centering something I can achieve just by breathing?
Basic dictionary definitions of “centered” say that to be centered any entity only has to have a center! Do I have a center?
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I know about my center of gravity of course. I need to have some idea of where it is when do Tai Chi. This center, however, shifts with each heartbeat, breath, movement or waft of air. It is not possible to keep my center in one place. If I try to stabilize my center of gravity, I feel my stress level shoot up, my body get tense, and my balance lost.
What other centers exist in a human form? How about the center of our power? Where is that, what is that, can it be found and used? Is this what is meant by the spiritualists when they refer to their center? Is being centered the same as being in total control of oneself and ones surroundings?
I thought to ask the internet what it even means to be centered. I was prepared to see very few results, but was instead surprised to find a great many entries. The explanation below encompasses pretty much everything the other entries mentioned:
Isn’t this saying to numb oneself, and to express oneself as a chat bot would? To remain in one place in mind, spirit and body? Are these good things? Sounds like being in a self-imposed prison to me. Like being in a yoga class, which I loathe.
I’ve been cogitating and researching what it means to be centered for hours now. I feel at odds with myself, and have lost sleep over this. I feel like I could be a failure at centering.
But I have many moments in every day of extreme joy, clarity, and positivity. Perhaps I am a natural at centering, and just never knew it.
So, in order to feel good about myself, I’m positing an alternative definition of what it means to be centered.
To be centered one must only be fully oneself, not subject to the whims and pronouncements of others. Free.
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Alright, I’ve got this now. I’ll tell you one of the many things I do to feel fully myself. The one thing that takes me to a place that nothing can shake me from, where I feel present in the moment and nowhere else.
I started this little essay with “I take a walk in Nature” which certainly does make me feel calm, happy, and fully myself. But when I really wanna feel powerful, bright, and all me, I add a little something to that.
I get myself to a river bank or shore or hilltop somewhere and I start belting out happy tunes.
Here is one I sang on a river bank just yesterday, and I think it touches on the essence of the question being asked here.
We were only waiting for this moment to be free
This is my entry to the Thoughtful Daily Post community's new initiative, a monthly contest. This month's prompt is:
We all find our center in different ways. Tell us about a practice you have that helps you stay grounded. Bonus points for oddity!
I didn't have photos of my own to use for this post, so I've used those of a fellow Hivean's. Keeping him present, you know?
You have until the end of August to answer this weighty question.