The quiet at night and in the early morning is wonderful. I cherish that silence.
There is something very nourishing about the alive sense of God's presence in the absence of sound.
So motivating have these moments of quiet been, that now I look for ways everyday, all day, to find those pockets of peace.
They are very rewarding.
I never fail to be educated anew and strengthened by these times.
Being busy with motherhood and working and caring for the people in my life doesn't make this task a breeze, nonetheless, it is worthwhile.
My intentional habits...
~ mornings are very early - 5ish. No one else in the house has to be up at that time so I can be slow moving, have my cup of coffee, and settle in to ponder and pray for about 20-30 minutes. I get dressed and groomed before I ever get anyone else up. By the time I begin waking the children up, I am grounded and have something to give them in the way of love and attention and patience. I love mornings when they are this way.
~Pauses in the day, just for a minute or two, to notice something I think is beautiful - a person, a child, a thought, a picture, a story, a quote, a scene, a memory, nature.
~Pauses to savor the thoughts concerning the gifts I'm thankful for. I have been surprised to note how many blessings there are in a day. God really is so good.
~Morning Mass. This is very easy for me (and not for every mother, I know) because I have the time to go to our parish school Mass between dropping my children off at the school (Catholic) and needing to be in my own classroom at another school. I lay it ALL on God's shoulders at Mass and leave feeling like I have a plan for the day.
~I began this last Autumn (2012) to intentionally slow down and move with intention and do one thing at a time when at all possible. I was like this when I was younger. But somehow, marriage to a high energy man, motherhood, homemaking, and working made me try to do twenty things at once. This made me impatient. And anxious. Hyper and not at peace even sometimes. Really, I've noticed that just as much gets accomplished now, but in a more balanced way. The goal: slower but steadily progressing through the day focusing on what is directly at hand in front of me. Being present in the moment. I've received back my former joy of homekeeping (cleaning, cooking, and even laundering). It is a renewed joy in puttering around our home. I retain, as well, the joy in being with children and teaching and interacting with people.
~I also slowed down my driving, which was never fast really, but now I slow down so I can let people in during high traffic, so I can think and and talk with the kids while we are driving to and fro. I also don't have to brake as often, I've noticed.
~I am very watchful as to how much media I let into my head/heart, and as much as I am able to control, into my children's heads/hearts. I, nor my children, do Facebook. Gasp. Very, very hard to do. Very, very much worth the effort to me.
~At night I pause to think about the day and pray a decade of the rosary for our family before going to sleep. Then, I give the world to God, which helps me to deal with the sadness and worry that the daily news often makes me feel.
While I appreciate that this need of mine to do these quieting things may be an inclination of my particular personality, I cannot help but believe that everyone could use some form of peace seeking (unplugging?) in order to be more whole and real and
calm, loving, and happy.
These efforts help me feel as if I and God are pacing and leading my life rather than a crazy, out of control, nonsensical life is leading me. Which is often how we all feel I think.
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