How busy are we? Let me see. Just a minute. I need to check my email. My texts. Can't live without the phone for goodness sake! But stop. Put down the electronics. It's okay to turn off the t.v. No music. Just quiet. Ahhhh. This sounds simple. But it's really hard to do. To disconnect from all of our modern marvels. You would not believe what a relief this can be. It's an opportunity to reconnect with your family and your friends. Even your dogs.
And this is what I have learned and rediscovered. My dog Bailey will hold my gaze forever. I think he may be reading my soul. And I'm reading his. We both came up with the same reading. We love and trust each other completely. I have learned from Sweet Pea that she, too, is loving and very thankful.
From my husband I have rediscovered this beautiful fleck of goldish brown in one of his eyes. I knew it was there from the start, but it's a reminder to me of his genuine new love for me. His sincere love of me. When it was all new. I noticed this fleck one day and thought some twenty years ago that I wanted to know everything about this man. And for this I am so fortunate. To stop my girl was hard. She's a busy one. So I caught her at a slow moment. As I was tucking her into bed for the night. Those freckles get me every time. I'm looking at the face of an almost full grown young woman. But what I really see is the sweet little baby with those kissable cheeks. I can't resist the urge to smooch them. And smooch them I do. She lets me. She's tired.
The other day I was visiting with a friend. I was listening. A lot. In fact my friend asked if everything was alright. Yes. Everything is fine. You haven't said much is all. It's kind of nice to listen, I replied. To hear how you are doing. It's nice to live a little beyond my own four walls.
So try it sometime. Just stop. That's all. Stop and pay attention to what's going on. Around you and beyond you. It really is amazing.
Thank you,Ann. That's mostly what I've been doing this Spring Break. You capture the essence of stopping and listening eloquently! Some things I've noticed: Rolo, our cat looks deep into my soul. The Kitz: Shadie Girl...the only other female in our home...balances our ying and yang...Oggi...my middle "fur child" is calm, cool and peaceful, even when he plays. The way Jeff smiles with his eyes, the opening of the tulips in our front yard, their radiant colors beckoning me to touch their soft pedals, the new buds on the tree outside our bay window, the cardinals stopping by to say 'ciao', how blessed I am to live somewhere quiet and peaceful and have wonderful neighbors, that although I am longing for family and friends far away, I can still hear their voices on the phone, that although I terribly miss those who left our earth, I can still feel their presence at times and they are always in my heart, the soft purring of Rolo when he's next to me, the taste of coffee on my couch as I read without caring what time it is...these and so much more. Thank you for your post!
ReplyDelete