Center. What does center mean to you? How do you center yourself from the start of the day to the end of the day? How do you center yourself during work or an important activity. How do you center yourself in the midst of chaos. Check out these prompts from the source. 

This word was tricky to begin with. How is being centered different from being grounded (word for day 2), I wondered. Without analyzing the word too much, I am leading with the prompts that the podcast provides. 

To me, center is a place of calm and grace. It is a state of consciousness where I am at peace with myself.  I feel centered when I have done my part. I feel centered when I have put in the required effort. I feel centered when I work with discipline. Following the same sequence of events centers me. Giving time and attention to the things that take up my mindspace centers me. Looking at a picture of Ganesha and asking for strength and courage before an important event centers me. When I am surrounded by chaos, I center myself by focusing on what I can do right here, right now. 

Listen. How would you define the word listen? How would you rate your listening quality? Who or what do you listen to the most? Yourself? Inner intuition? A dearly loved one? A total stranger? What else do you listen to? Do you listen to nature? I tried to note down the prompts as I find them useful to trigger my thinking but may not have captured them accurately. Hop over to the podcast. 

To me, listening is paying attention. When you are truly listening to someone, you are giving that person your time and  attention. Listening extends beyond the sounds you hear. You listen to your body. You listen to your intellect. You listen to your mind. You listen to your family, friends and society. You listen so the other person can be heard.

What do I listen to the most? Sadly, the non-stop stories in my head. I also realize that with my immediate gang of three at home, I have the itch to be heard rather than the patience to listen. I am so caught up in wanting to follow up on this and that, that my quality of listening ebbs and flows with the ones that matter the most. I sure hope to work on this. 

I find myself to be a willing listener in one on one interactions. I am genuinely interested in what the other person has to share and tend to listen with curiosity. Listening to sounds of nature and the movements in my house are my most favorite cues to bring me back to the present moment.

The word of the day was Now. 

A practice that asks you to just be in the moment. What could be better than that? I was thrilled. I had a plan. I am going to soak in and savor every moment, every experience, and turn an ordinary day into extraordinary. Ironically, the day turned out to be the exact opposite of that. I was everywhere but in the now and here. I was catching up on work emails  while listening to a knowledge share. I was thinking of the car that needed to be picked up from the mechanic while being on a conference call. I was planning how to handle an escalation at work when going on my afternoon walk. I was texting while Hari was catching me up on his day. The long day kept getting longer and longer with scattered thoughts,  fragmented work, and a distracted presence. 

Some days are like that. And therein lies the beauty of Now. You have the choice to practice being in the moment for as long as you are alive. So what if you fail one day, pick yourself up and plunge into the practice the next moment. 

Grounding – What does grounding mean to you? What actions ground you? Which people ground you? How do you ground yourself when you are on your own and emotions such as fear, anger and restlessness rise? 

When I think of the word grounding, I imagine being firmly planted like a tree, touched but not swayed by the chaos around me, and responding with grace. When I am grounded I am able to let go of things that are not in my control and give my all to things that I can control.

Actions that ground me include my routine, solitude, prayers, being close to nature, having heart to heart conversations, being part of something bigger, actively engaged in an artistic pursuit, decluttering, listening to/reading words that inspire, and being present with my family.

The kind of people that ground me are the ones who rise above their circumstance, who are able to embrace the good, bad and the ugly, who are able to choose kindness and compassion over everything else, who are genuine, non-judgmental and carry no malice. They ground me and inspire me to be the best version of myself.

When challenging emotions such as anger, restlessness, and fear arise, I ground myself by first acknowledging that I am angry, restless, or afraid. Anger is the peskiest of all emotions, it seldom lets me ground myself without leaving a trail a destruction. It’s an all consuming emotion. Giving anger time and space seem to be the only way to manage it. Thankfully, it is a fleeting emotion. Restlessness, on the other hand, is practice in letting go. You need to keep working on your self with tender, love and care. Fear is the most humbling of emotions that can often make one feel lonely and utterly helpless. Staying focused, and keeping faith are ways in which I keep myself grounded.