I’m reminded of the many pictures I’ve seen over the years of mother’s hiding in closets reading or eating their dinner. The scene of the bubble bath and the toe just about to tip into the promise of relaxation and then the BANG on the door with the accompanying, ‘Mum, what are you doing in there? Let me in.’
I think back to the days of being single and the time I had to myself. Those days are long gone for me. I’ve travelled through motherhood with busy boys and an equally busy girl and now as a grandmother, the hustle and bustle of life remain. This coupled with the noise of life, our connected communities through our devices, 24-hour broadcasting on any and all devices we own means we can lose silence and forget how important it is and how powerful it is.
There is something soothing about silence, something that actually ministers to the souls of our self. It’s amazing in this world full of sound bytes how we are all shocked when silence finds us. It’s almost become unsettling for some. I have talked to many mothers who need to leave music on in their children’s rooms because they aren’t used to silence or quiet at night. Equally, I know of some elderly people who keep the television on 27/7. Sometimes it’s for company, but mostly, it’s for the soothing sound of ‘something.’
Over the years, I’ve come to understand that power of silence and being still. I’ve learned that quiet can rejuvenate and impact my neurology which then impacts my physical and ultimately my spiritual being. After all, we are body, soul and spirit and to neglect either of those means we are not living the full expression of who we are. In understanding the power of silence and the need to quiet ourselves, I have read many articles and listened to countless teachers who have explained the vast benefits of silence and quiet. This article in Psychology Today explains the why behind the what of meditation very well. The word meditation means continued or extended thought; reflection; contemplation. It is about being mindful.
Personally, I find time in my morning to spend time in quiet allowing my mind and my thoughts to come together through reflection, prayer and focus. Through this, there are times that I can feel myself calming down, that the concerns, the worries and even the stress I’m carrying, at times, is melting away. And yes, there have been times when I’ve fallen asleep, but I’ve realised that clearly, at that moment, that must have been what my body, soul and spirit needed. Rest. As I have made this a practice in my life I have found, as the article I mentioned, reports: clarity, healthier connectivity between myself and the world around me. For me, my focus and my mindfulness are on God and the things he is doing in and through me. It’s a yielding of myself to be enveloped by Him it’s a surrender to something greater.
I share this with you today very intentionally. We’ve just had a wonderful long weekend and hopefully enjoyed time with families, with friends and perhaps outdoors with this beautiful weather. We are mid-year, and our schedules are busy, time is flying by, school life is busy, I’m sure your weeks are filled with sports activities, music lessons and your nights are spent folding laundry, cleaning bathrooms and filling dishwashers. Sometimes life can feel like Groundhog Day, and we get lost in the midst of the noise and busy.
I’d like to encourage you to carve out some space for yourself to rejuvenate your body, mind and spirit. Find some quiet where you can be still. I have a young friend who I have encouraged to do just this, and she has told me that she lays on her floor, arms wide open, leg spread like a starfish, and she soaks it all in. For her, she listens to her breathing and falls into a space of quiet and calm. She says that doing something as simple as the starfish in her loungeroom has changed her life in ways that she can hardly express. She feels exhilarated, her days are different, her sense of peacefulness throughout the day greater than ever and as a mother of three, she is experiencing calm like never before. The only thing she’s done differently in the last three weeks is that she has been mindful of creating space to be quiet and to be still.
I hope this helps and as always I’m more than happy to chat with anyone who is interested in growing and learning. Be well and may you find space to breathe and to hear.
Much love,
Susanna #littlemiraclescommunity