Appreciation

Greetings from The Front Porch!


What have you grown to appreciate?  Something I have grown to appreciate, as I have gotten older are the pockets of peaceful moments that I have learned to weave into my ever so busy days.


As a women who wears many hats and fills many roles, I am aware of how easy it is for me to be caught up in the to do's of my day.


I have learned to be intentional with my time as I plan my being still and purposefully pausing in the moments to take in an extra breath of air through out my day.


Purposefully pausing and being still looks different for everyone.  For me it comes in the form of white space, margin in my day, breathing room for my body, soul and mind.  I make sure to take breaks from the busyness even when I am not tired.  I stop to smell the roses even when nothing sticks.  Lunch dates at the dinner table even when I am all alone.  These are simple but profound moments for  me as I choose to not let my day be dictated by my to do's.


I use to believe that I would get lost in my pause and forget how to be if I stopped.  However, to live is to understand the process of pressing into the pause and resting well in the moment.  True life is found in those still quiet moments of my day.


As I get older, I learn to rely less on what I do and more on who I am.  This is a lesson I wish I had learned in my 20's and 30's but it is never to late to educate.  I love to watch others who live a life of calmness, those relaxed souls who seem to be at peace in their moments and resting in their pauses.


I am a great advocate for the pause.  I study being still like scholars study books of the professions of yesterday.  I have learned to be OK just being me and as I grow older I become more confident in my moments of rest and pockets of peace.  I appreciate being still and the gift of living in the moment.  


What is it you have come to appreciate lately?


Cris