The Art of Concentration - A Morning of Rock Balancing
How trying to balance rocks can unlock insights into living well
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From Baja Sur, Mexico
This week I find myself writing to you from Baja Sur California and I had a delightful start to my Saturday that has taught me a bit about concentration. The story of why and how I'm here is not extremely relevant to this newsletter but I am in a place called the Modern Elder Academy. It's a wonderful spot on a fairly remote stretch of the Baja peninsula with not much around for a couple of miles besides desert, beach, ocean, and our little spot in the midst of it all.
People Look Different But We’re All Looking For Something Similar
I'm not the typical person you'd find here either. As the name implies, the majority of the folks I find myself here with are older (40s-70s), but despite that, I don't feel out of place. Not because of some shared likeness but partly because everyone has been so welcoming and partly because there is some measure of peacefulness here that for whatever reason is more elusive in other parts of the world. I think being away from the hustle and bustle of the big city as well as being in proximity to nature make it clear that the differences between people are not as stark as they might appear to be at first glance - i.e. we're all here on this little planet, figuring things out each day, looking for own peace and light.
It’s also kind of a humbling and eye-opening experience to sit with a group of folks that have lived 2-3X more life than I have. Humbling because in a place where people are interested in mulling over some of their own larger life questions, having lived so little, I find myself sitting, listening, and trying to take it in - seeing if there are any clues out there that I might glean some insight from.
It’s eye-opening because while I’ve talked to a bunch of folks in my life of all ages, I’ve never been with so many people that are older than me and with no one that is my age or younger than me. The conversation has been different and it’s been amazing to see what people talk about.
Everyone seems calmer, more grateful, more patient, more tolerant, less prescriptive, and a lot of other things. I’ll have more to say on this as I’m staying here a bit longer, but suffice it to say I’m happy I’m here.
I Think It’s Important To Say Yes To Things
I say all of this because I’ve never been in a place quite like this with a group quite like this one and so last night when I was offered to accompany someone on their morning walk (530am is not usually a time I'm excited to spring out of bed) I decided to go. I'm glad I did go because I learned a fair bit about the art of concentration and how stillness, precision, and focus are fundamental to our well-being.
Watching The Morning Open Up
We started off with a walk down the beach, just as the sun started to crest the horizon, with the light breaking and reflecting through the clouds. We had a destination in mind - this craggy point at the far end of the beach where we would attempt some rock balancing (more on this later).
The walk on the beach was an important first step in our day and it got us in the right frame of mind for rock balancing.
The Silence of The Morning Stills Me
In the wild breath of nature feel the hush of presence - Angie Weiland-Crosby
We walked and talked with short stretches of silence in between. The conversation was fairly low and meandering. Something about walking on an untouched beach at the crack of dawn makes it feel almost wrong to speak too loudly or excitedly.
It was nice, the calmness of the conversation. It opened up space for me to be more aware of the morning unfolding around me.
The first crack of light was orange and relegated to one corner of the sky. As we walked, the sun inched up further into the sky, the clouds shifting fairly quickly to avoid it, and the different colors of the morning waxing in turn across the horizon. As a result of the sun’s steady rise, the light changed fairly quickly - into bursts of pinks, purples, yellows, and different shades of orange.
It was a sight to see.
The Morning Changes Quickly, Probably A Good Metaphor For Life
It was wild to me how much all of it changed - moment to moment. When everything around you is silent you realize how quickly the world changes. It makes you not want to miss a single moment.
Before we knew it we had reached our destination - a rocky point, smoothed by waves over time, that would require some maneuvering to make our way over.
Watching The Morning Open Up Teaches Me To Be Present
Adopt the pace of nautre. Her secret is patience - Emerson
What struck me about this walk was how dreamlike it all was and how I felt when we had reached our destination. The silence and the calmness of the day had a stilling effect on my thoughts and were meditative. I almost could not help but pay attention to what was around me and to how I felt in it, moment to moment. When I arrived I was surprised at how alert, calm, and energized I felt. It was a great frame of mind to be in for our rock balancing.
Trying My Hand At Rock Balancing
When we got there the idea was to balance rocks. This was my first time hearing about rock balancing and frankly, it seemed like a silly thing to do, but why not I thought (say yes to stuff right?).
The goal was to try and find a rock with oddly shaped, or sharp points even, and attempt to balance it on another rock. There is no "better" or "worse" in rock balancing, but the levels of difficulty increase with the impossibility of the arrangement. Here are some examples.
Beginner
More Advanced
I was not really sure what to expect, but I started making my way amongst the rocks to choose a particularly pointy one and see if I could balance it. I got my first rock to balance pretty quickly by nestling it in a notch I found in another rock. The person I had taken the walk with challenged me to a more difficult attempt - i.e. no notch and a pointier rock. He basically said my rock balancing was soft and that I was stacking. Ok, challenge accepted. Pointier rocks.
Trying To Rock Balance Feels Impossible At First
So I went and found a pretty pointy one. For the next several minutes I tried balancing the pointy edge of this rock on the pointy edge of another rock. I know that sentence sounds crazy and kind of silly, but that is what I was doing yesterday morning.
With a pointy rock in hand and another pointy rock identified, at first blush, it seemed impossible to get these rocks to balance, but I went for it.
To get it to balance, I had my hands on either side of it lightly touching the rock. Imagine a Jedi trying to force push on either side, but I’m not a Jedi, I need to actually touch the rock, and it’s extremely pointy. I tried to get it to stay in place, twisting and turning the rock to see if different angles would work, but I was not even close to getting it to balance (I thought).
To Balance, You Need Intense, Calm Concentration
Eventually, I relaxed and the whole world seemed to disappear as I focused on my struggle with these rocks. I concentrated only on the rock, my hands, and my breath.
You have to watch your breathing because if you don't control it your body moves too much and you can't balance the rock.
Additionally, you need to pick a comfortable yet active stance so you can move and work the rock around, but you can't be in a position where you're constantly readjusting or you’ll knock the rock over. Picture a squat hold where you’re leaning forward that you feel good in (not really a thing).
Additionally, when you're in the middle of rocky terrain, bending over, and trying to balance a heavy-ass rock, the whole situation is sort of tricky.
The usefulness of a cup is in its emptiness - Bruce Lee
You also need to be extremely gentle and light with your hands. There is a very tight degree or window at which that rock may or may not balance so the lightness of touch is key. As you wrestle with the rock you start to settle into what you're doing and you commit to being there for as long as it takes, at least that is how I felt. Once that happens any tension I had started to fall away and the only thing I really cared about or focused on was getting this damn rock to balance.
There is this moment, that is so incredibly satisfying when you're barely touching the rock, your fingers are barely nudging it in the direction you think it will balance in and it clicks. It’s freaking awesome. Check out my rock:
Here is what the other person got:
Practicing Intense Concentration & Trying Impossible Things
The thing with rock balancing is it feels pretty impossible as you're doing it.
It also requires your complete focus and all of your awareness. Additionally, you need to stay calm, move lightly, and be precise with your adjustments in order to get the rock to balance. In short - you need intense concentration. I was pretty surprised by how simultaneously calming and energizing this morning's exercise was for me. It made me realize a few things.
I Get Caught In The Chaos
It made me think a lot about how sometimes we move so fast, rushing from this place to that place, trying to get SO much done in a finite amount of time, and you end up getting lost in all the chaos. What I mean by that is you’re never fully there or present in any ONE thing as a result of thinking about ALL the things you need to do. I don’t know if this is true for any of you, but I’ve certainly noticed it happens to me more often than I’d like.
As someone that is often trying to get a ton done in my day, I know how often I've felt like I'm just getting through things - whether it’s washing the dishes, making the bed, doing my laundry, calling someone on their birthday, and how unenjoyable those things can feel at times. When I'm in that state not only do I feel worse, that is the time when I usually miss important details.
Practicing Concentration Is Key To Stillness and Enjoyment
Concentration is the root of all abilities in [wo]man - Bruce Lee
This morning I learned the value of practicing concentration and the beauty in doing simple things with great effort and great attention. It might seem silly to go out and balance rocks, but to me, it reminded me how important it is to give our full attention to every moment - little as they may seem.
I realized that putting intense concentration and awareness into all things in life is an extremely beautiful, calming, and almost necessary thing for me. I want to enjoy the here and now, each moment. Or else what’s the point?
Being intentional about asking the question "what am I going to do next?" and doing exactly that with all of the energy, effort, and attention I can muster makes me feel good. The more I can do that in each moment of my day, the more often I feel at my best. I feel calm, I feel energized, and I feel I can accomplish the impossible.
I'm not suggesting people go out and balance rocks today but maybe think about rock balancing next time you're washing dishes or have an endless to-do list. Ask yourself what are you going to do next and commit to doing just that until you're done. Settle in and enjoy it.
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To Living Well,
Alvaro