Moments of peacefulness?

[Ultralight]

Sometimes (like tonight) I will make steel cut oats for dinner. Not sure why, but I like oatmeal for dinner sometimes.

I will throw in a dab of PB, some walnuts, raisins, raw honey, and cinnamon.

It is good.

But during the 30+ minutes it takes to cook the oats, I usually find myself feeling peaceful in a way.

Does anyone else care to share their unexpected moments of peacefulness?

[Tammy]

Driving all alone. I don't like to drive. Would like to live without a car. But when I need to drive somewhere that takes 20-30 minutes it's quiet and relaxing.

[Zoe Girl]

it is hygge, the Danish word for comfort. They like oatmeal a lot.

[Yppej]

Doing a back float.

[catherine]

Doing a back float.

I like that one.

Right now, in the wee morning hours, when everyone else is asleep, and I'm alone with a cup of coffee.

Or in the summer, sitting on my swing with my dog, reading.

Or at night reading Compline (Prayers at the End of the Day)

[herbgeek]

Sitting in a Adirondack chair overlooking my garden. Makes me feel peaceful even when the chair is inside and the garden is converted with snow.

[razz]

Sitting in the afternoon winter sun reading, cup of tea in hand, dog snoozing at my side and classical music playing especially Gaia Prime radio on my Sonos speaker.

[Rogar]

I have expected moments of peacefulness somewhat routinely, but had to think about unexpected moments. Odd as it might seem, the one I came up with was when I bike 10 miles to the Sinclair station the next community over and buy a double sized Butterfinger bar. Sometimes it seems exquisite.

[dado potato]

What a delightful thread!

Rogar, in warmer months I use my bike on a near-daily basis. I don't pack a snack, but I port iced green tea (which I brew with "Dragon Well" loose green tea leaves from Yunnan). Climbing a hill ... and shifting down to a lower gear 7 to 9 times ... gives me a euphoric feeling. Maybe it's dopamine in my brain. Once the slope of the road is level again, I return the gears to normal, and my breathing and heart rates go back to calm and slow, and I drink a couple squirts of cool tea. Ahhh! And I take in the splendor of the roadside wildflowers and the butterflies... forest on both sides.... "Rolling, Rolling, Rolling!" on a bike named "Watch and Pray".

I ski cross-country (traditional Nordic) this time of year. I have hilltop experiences on skis too. I especially enjoy stopping on a little-used trail, among red pines (or whites, but white pine is much less common here). And I take in the smell of the snow, observe grouse or chickadees, and best of all, listen to the pine needles sigh in the breeze. I highly recommend the relative silence of standing still, after the rhythmic slap and hiss of skis striding over the snow. My winter refreshment is chai (black tea with spices, milk and sugar) which I keep in an insulated bottle.

razz, my sunporch is glazed on the E, S, and W sides, and under the tile floor I have electric heat which I set at 80F in winter. This morning at sunrise the outdoor temperature was -19F (in the bleak mid-winter, as they say), but the ambient temperature one foot above the sunporch floor was 60. It is sunny today, so I expect the temperature in the La-Z-Boy recliner will go up to the high 60s this afternoon. With minor differences, I read as you do. Out in the sun I like my tea (Darjeeling or Yunnan black) in a clear glass cup! I rest it on a clear glass coaster. Before I put my feet up with the hand-lever, I spread my lap with an afghan blanket. I am usually joined my Norwegian Forest Cat (she is my laptop!). When I look up from my reading I see the snowy expanse outside, or the interior view of succulents, coleus, rosemary & parsley (brought in for the winter), geraniums, African violets, and a few other potted plants. I am listening to Gaia at the moment, for the first time... quite restful, acoustic. Thanks for mentioning it.

[leslieann]

Thank you, dado, for the moment of lovely peacefulness your description of chair, cat, afghan and sun porch brought me.

[pinkytoe]

Lying in bed at night with hubster reading our books and saying to myself "at this moment everything is just fine".

[Ultralight]

Lying in bed at night with hubster reading our books and saying to myself "at this moment everything is just fine".

Sounds dreamy!

[Gardenarian]

I'm the early riser in my house (not that early, either) and I love that moment of opening the door for the first time of the day and going out to fetch the newspaper. The mountains, the fog rising from the valley, birds hopping around, that first deep breath of un-canned crisp air - it's a good start.

[Rogar]

I'm the early riser in my house (not that early, either) and I love that moment of opening the door for the first time of the day and going out to fetch the newspaper. The mountains, the fog rising from the valley, birds hopping around, that first deep breath of un-canned crisp air - it's a good start.

Our local news had a live camera shot of the Golden Gate in fog this morning. I was thinking, I love fog. Maybe partly because we hardly ever get it here.

[Float On]

Doing a back float.

I'm really anxious to try one of the float spas that are popping up all around. 90 minutes of floating in the dark sounds like bliss.

Oatmeal. When I'm at my dad's cabin I cook oatmeal on top of the woodstove. The crackle of the fire, sitting in a rocking chair, the warmth of the oatmeal when it's done leads to a bed covered in quilts and a great night's rest.

Sitting in my yard on the ground looking for little rocks to add to a rock path I'm building. Very grounding. Not everyone can say they've sat everywhere in their entire property. I seem to go through a ritual when I grab a 5 gallon bucket and find a spot in the yard. I sit, I touch the ground, I look around and just appreciate everything I see from this view, I pick rocks, let my mind wander, start thinking about things I'm thankful for, thank the earth for the free rocks (they seem to grow faster than grass here in the ozarks), realized I've got 1/2 a bucket full, stand up and go add them to the path.

[SteveinMN]

I've been trying to think of the peaceful moments I find. I think most of them involve early morning, before everyone else (pretty much the rest of the world) is awake. Cup of coffee in hand, something interesting to read in front of me, no crises to attend to, nothing I dread I'll have to do later, the day as yet un-messed up. The rest of them involve a stand of trees in which I'm standing, nothing visible past the trees, and almost nothing else.

[JaneV2.0]

...no crises to attend to, nothing I dread I'll have to do later, the day as yet un-messed up. ...

That seems to be key.

[Ultralight]

For the record:
1. I love this thread and I think it is one of the best I have started on here.
2. I am making some steel cut oats tonight, for another moment of peacefulness.

Please continue if you feel inspired.

[Ultralight]

I changed my mind about the oatmeal, as I wanted something savory.

A colleague a work gave me a family recipe (he is Indian) for some moong dal. It is very basic, and cooks much in the same way as oatmeal -- simply ingredients, simple instructions, and a 30 minute cook time.

Put it on a bed of basmati rice you have an ultra-simple meal that is warm and filling and comforting.

It is an easy joy to cook and relaxing and satisfying to eat.

Very peaceful dinner at home. :)

[ToomuchStuff]

For me, sometimes it is just a drive, at night, with the windows down, no traffic out, just peaceful. That can lead to a retro drive, where I turn the radio to only one speaker, towards the front/right side of the vehicle and remember days gone past.
Other times it is just sitting on the porch, in the swing, after pushing the reel mower around the yard.

However this made me remember a peaceful moment a friend once said, and the story was horrifying up to that point, that he had us laughing at it.

[SteveinMN]

A colleague a work gave me a family recipe (he is Indian) for some moong dal. It is very basic, and cooks much in the same way as oatmeal -- simply ingredients, simple instructions, and a 30 minute cook time.
Before I went ultra-low-carb, mung dal was comfort food for me. Love(d) it!

[Zoe Girl]

I changed my mind about the oatmeal, as I wanted something savory.

A colleague a work gave me a family recipe (he is Indian) for some moong dal. It is very basic, and cooks much in the same way as oatmeal -- simply ingredients, simple instructions, and a 30 minute cook time.

Put it on a bed of basmati rice you have an ultra-simple meal that is warm and filling and comforting.

It is an easy joy to cook and relaxing and satisfying to eat.

Very peaceful dinner at home. :)

I like to make dal with red lentils, they are small and turn into that nice smooth dal.

[ToomuchStuff]

I'm really anxious to try one of the float spas that are popping up all around. 90 minutes of floating in the dark sounds like bliss.



Is that just another term for sensory deprivation chamber?

[nswef]

I tried one of those floats....thought I would love it...lasted less than 20 minutes and kept getting in and out, lifting the lid, turning on the light, turning it off....the total darkness gave me the creeps. I felt disoriented, then kept thinking about all the other people who had been in it....they say they clean and sterilize them, but...just couldn't do it. My friend goes once a month and loves it.

[Tammy]

I would absolutely hate it. It would feel like a coffin. 😄

[Ultralight]

Here is another one from my past, but I reflect back on it because:
1. It was memorable to me.
2. The moment lasted several hours.

A few years back when I was working for a union they sent me to Detroit for a meeting. They wanted me to stay in a hotel, but if I found my own place to stay I could keep the difference. So I found a campground about 45 minutes from he meeting. It was very rural and quiet.

It was in April, so it was still pretty dang cold.

I had my little, tiny REI tent. So I camped out. The dinner I had was just a bottle of water and a handful of assorted LarBars (made of dates and nuts).

So I kicked back in my car listening to the radio and relaxing, having my simple dinner. Then I set up the tent, got in, and laid down. I put on my headlamp to read.

Then a hell of a windstorm came through with cold rain and hail. It got so cold I had to put on the spare set of clothes I had stashed in my car along with a somewhat unwashed hoodie that was in the back seat. I curled and twirled the blankets around me. And I think my BIL for giving me the inflatable camping mat they never used.

I stopped reading. I just listened to the wild wind, the howls, rain and hail pelting the tent's rain fly. It went on most of the night. I loved it!



The tent kept me and my stuff totally dry. So I just enjoyed that long, long moment thoroughly.

[simpleisbest]

When I get insideand hear the rain drops softly pattering on the roof of my car I fora moment, forget that I am wet and cold and feel only peace andtranquility.

[heatmiser]

It may sound trite and obvious but I like sitting in my hot tub in the winter.
When I put my house in order and retired, I allowed myself a final indulgence
of a hot tub, and covered its back porch home with fiberglass with one side of the porch still open.

It rains for about 8 months straight in winter here on the Canadian Border,
and much as I love rain, I am in a special place when I'm not either penned inside
nor outside being rained on. My mind just drifts aimlessly as I breathe the fresh air.

[Sad Eyed Lady]

Loving this thread UL! I have tried to think of my answer, but realize they come at different times, rare and far between, but not one particular time stands out to me at the moment. So, in the meantime I will keep reading all the wonderful peaceful posts here.

[Float On]

It may sound trite and obvious but I like sitting in my hot tub in the winter.
When I put my house in order and retired, I allowed myself a final indulgence
of a hot tub, and covered its back porch home with fiberglass with one side of the porch still open.

It rains for about 8 months straight in winter here on the Canadian Border,
and much as I love rain, I am in a special place when I'm not either penned inside
nor outside being rained on. My mind just drifts aimlessly as I breathe the fresh air.

I keep trying to save up for a hot tub but this year car repairs have gotten in the way. In fact I've designed something similar to what you described but a little bit away from the house so it has a good view of the hills to the southeast. If I put it where the dog house and kennel were (TomDog recently passed and I'm not interested in having a dog again besides what dog really spends time in a doghouse/kennel when they are a part of the family) it's protected from the north and west by the studio and the house and the platform would be open to the southeast and and southwest to 40 acres of nothing (naked hot tub time!!!).

[Teacher Terry]

I love to sit and look at a lake or ocean. Early in the morning or late at night.

[rosarugosa]

We did a long walk in the woods today and sat on the rocks looking at one of the ponds for a bit. Perfect day, perfect place, perfect company (DH). I really worked on being mindful of the experience and not letting my brain chatter away about things I needed to do, upcoming appointments, etc. It isn't easy; I had to keep pulling myself back. "Rosa, you are in paradise, and why are you thinking about cleaning the litter boxes when you get home?" It was wonderful when I succeeded, but I clearly still have work to do with this mindfulness stuff!

[HappyHiker]

For me, it's being among big trees and breathing deeply. Feeling rooted and connected to them...I feel my body slowing down and relaxing...