Here I am napping.
Here I am writing.
Here I am being.
Bruce and I spent a couple days at Grandview Lodge near Brainerd, Minnesota, recently. Our simple, cozy cabin right on the shore of frozen, snow-covered Gull Lake offered just the kind of quiet we enjoy. Our agenda was simple: read, nap, nap, read, and do it all over again. Oh, and eat. We bundled up -- long underwear, earmuffs, hat, scarf, and our heaviest jackets -- to head to the lodge at meal time. Good hearty breakfasts and leisurely dinners.
I brought with me some writing to revise, a chapter in my spiritual memoir that felt unwieldy. A change of pace and scene was just what I needed, and I came home with a new chapter now "at rest."
How good it was to let each day unfold. I gazed out our big picture windows taking in the expanse of white, seeing only a few icehouses and hearing only an occasional snowmobile. The day we arrived it snowed, gifting us with a couple inches of fresh snow, whiter than white against the clear blue sky. A postcard of winter.
Sometimes a time out restores energy. Sometimes a time out clears the space of whatever is muddling your heart or mind. Sometimes a time out reminds us of what is most important to us. Sometimes a time out offers inspiration and becomes a source of new creativity.
Sometimes a time out is preparation for whatever is next.
Sometimes a time out is simply a time to be, to nap, to read, to enjoy the ease of companionship.
Sometimes we don't know how important a time out is until we return.
I hope you will pay attention to messages from your body, mind, soul, that may be whispering (or even shouting), I need a time out, and then I hope you will give that gift to yourself, even if all you can do is stop and close your eyes and take deep calming breaths, finding your own rhythm. Sometimes that is all we need.
An Invitation
What do you do when you need a time out? I would love to know.
When in need of a time out what comes naturally to me is: napping and reading. Other things that I'm learning to do (in order of increasing difficulty): Behold Beauty, Cultivate Creativity, Defy Despair, Welcome Whimsy.
ReplyDeleteYour blog caught my eye because "CLEARING" is my word for 2017 (my retirement year). Thank you for your scripting.
Thanks for reading--and commenting. I like your list. "Defy Despair" is most challenging for me--and why time outs are necessary.
DeleteI think I would do exactly what you did. Like me, you are fortunate to have a partner to share your days and nights. It makes a world of difference. I know single people who would not enjoy the same kind of quiet respite. A change to them would mean getting out and about, meeting other people. Each to his or her own!
ReplyDeleteYou are so right. Thanks for your comment.
ReplyDelete"Time out" is where I would put my kids who were being stinkers! After a few minutes of just sitting, being still catching their breathe they would have a new attitude, better understanding of their behavior and actions. Although in a different spirit of time out, isn't that something we all could use every once in awhile? Maybe not a cabin in Maine, but a cozy chair to sit in, take a deep breathe and have an attitude check. Your never too old for "time out"! Thanks for your post and an opportunity to share. Maddie
ReplyDeleteI think I'll give myself another time out right now!! Thanks for reading and commenting.
ReplyDelete