Earlier this week I was thinking that if aliens were to land on Earth they would be highly confused. They would report back to their chief and say:

 

• Earthlings live on the most beautiful planet in the Universe (we know!) but instead of being grateful and enjoying this privilege, they are always moaning and trashing the place.
• Some couldn't be lovelier and opened their doors to us and others were just vile, hostile and violent.
• Some are calm and some are constantly agitated.
• Some live in huge mansions and others in shacks.
• Some are obese and some are dying of hunger.
• They have books and all sorts of sources of knowledge and wisdom and yet many are not interested in knowing the truth or doing the right thing.
• Earthlings are clearly clever and courageous but they spend their spare time watching dumb sh*t.
• There are 7.8 billion of them and many of them feel lonely.

 

I could carry on but you get the idea. There is no way aliens would want to take control of our planet; they would say, "These people are too f****d up to dominate, let's get out of here!" Unless they could kill all of us in which case they might enjoy our beautiful planet and treat it as it deserves to be.

 

Too often I feel like an alien and frankly, I don't know what to make of this earthly experience. I just try to enjoy the good bits and push away the bad bits as quickly as I can. It's not easy but I am getting better at it. What else can we do?

 

It's nothing new. Ancient Greeks and Romans had the best thinkers yet gathered in their beautiful arenas to watch people being killed for entertainment. They also invaded as many countries as they could.

 

So ... Back to pottering in the garden this weekend then! Away from the craziness.

 

I am more and more convinced that people (from different religions) had the right idea when they created a weekly day of sabbath. No work, only rest and spiritual observance. I remember Sundays being a long, enjoyable day, before the internet and shops being allowed to trade. There was nowhere to go apart from the occasional visit to family. It was peaceful and what we would now call Slow Living. This is what I am trying to replicate. I do my shopping before the weekend and my house chores on Saturday so that Sundays can be left for relaxing activities and spiritual growth. I can imagine being able to put away all my electronic devices on that day very soon. I might even try today! I'll have to put them in a cupboard — I can't rely on willpower. I'll only keep my phone to be able to stay in touch or take pictures. Not sure about audiobooks just yet. Silence all day (apart from conversations) would be great but I might have to take it one step at a time.

 

How about you? How are you going to make sure you relax today?