be still

In this whole quest I’ve been on, or that God is leading me through, I have just had this intense feeling to be quiet.

To stop being so busy.
To stop wasting time on things that don’t matter.

To stop being distracted.

To.

Just.

Stop.

And here’s the thing.
I know it’s God, and not me, because recently I actually had this weird, totally NOT me thought…

“Maybe it’s time to let go of YouTube for a bit.  And maybe perhaps some of the trashy Reality TV too…  And what about all that junk food?”

To which I was all, “Ummmm….God, is that You?  And are you sure you meant this thought for me???  Maybe your wires got crossed (mistakes happen) and this was actually intended for someone else…..”

And so I brushed it off and moved on and away from such drastic thinking.

But then the thought was there again the next day….and the day after that.

And so I pulled up my DVR recordings and I just started deleting.
Pausing at each show to check once again for that recurring thought.

“Let it go.”

Sigh.

Delete.
Delete.
Pause.
Delete.

And as I started letting go of the noise and the distractions, I realized suddenly how badly I had missed the silence.

How badly I needed peace and calm.

{she found me in my moment of peace and asked me to read to her.}

And so this last weekend, I practiced living without the junk.

I packed up my family and we went on an adventure.
With a picnic basket, blankets, and only a vision in my head, we set out to find a little bit of peace and solitude.

It was a little like Forrest Gump, in that we just got up and started going.
Only in a car.
No Run-Nang.
We were driving and driving and we had no idea where we would end up….and then suddenly we just stopped.
At a beautiful secluded lake, where there was absolutely no noise.

My kids were so excited about our adventure, and I loved the look of joy in their eyes when we finally discovered our little gem.

As we sat on our blankets under the umbrella talking and eating lunch, we all seemed to be at our best.
The kids were laughing and smiling, and there wasn’t a single moment of arguing.

At one point I laid back next to Taylor as he sweetly wrapped his arms around me, and we just snuggled there for a few moments listening to the sound of nature.

And as the tiny waves quietly lapped the shore of our little paradise, he whispered…
“Mom.  I just love that sound.  I love it so much.”

How sweet.
How simple.

And yet, we can get so busy…
so distracted….
so caught up in things that are meaningless and serve no lasting purpose…
that we miss these kinds of moments.

I’m realizing we weren’t meant to live such crazy busy lives.
Our bodies and minds weren’t designed for such stress.

And I hope that with more and more practice, being still can come easier to me even when I’m not in the actual presence of a silent paradise.

~~~~~~~

Thanks to my gal Mama Kat (BlogHer roomie, wuz up!) for the writers workshop topic:
Time for a break!  Show us where you go for quiet time.

© 2012 “Le Musings of Moi”