In the busyness of life we need to find a way to pause

here are my favourite things to do when the chaos replaces the peace within

Sometimes in the busyness of life
one needs time to be still,
to be held
to be nurtured.

Sometimes in the chaos of life
one needs time to ones self
to pause
to feel
to love.

Sometimes in the chaos of life
one gets lost and falls,

and then in the chaos
a different beat sounds
and a different sound comes
and a different door opens.

Sometimes in the chaos of life...
s.corrie

I am conscious that life can be really chaotic, really busy, really hectic
I am conscious that life can and does get away from us.

I have fallen into this way of life and have felt that the noise of life, of my mind and of thoughts at times drowns out the peace and sacred sounds that sustain me - the sounds of nature, the soft quieter voice of my heart, the tender musings of my dreams and visions.

I am conscious that what I need and crave during these times is peace, is tranquility, is a different beat to that which my “do do doing” mind is making.

So I choose to hold the stick tenderly in my hand,
To let it beat the drum itself.
I am a vessel for the sounds to be played
I am a vessel for the beat to be played.

Do I choose to only play the chaotic beat that troubles my mind or distorts my truth or do I choose to hold the stick more tenderly,
to let it “play itself”
to let it hear the inner beat,
to let it meet the skin -

so tenderly
so consciously?

Here are some things that I consciously do when I need to remove the chaos in my life

Sometimes I choose to go outside -

I choose to let the air touch my face and blow through my long hair.

I choose to see the colours in nature and note how the light of the day/night changes the colours in the trees, plants, the sky and the landscape around me.

I choose to note the shadows of the sun and feel the season upon the earth.

I choose to feel the earth under my feet and I choose to stop walking as my feet breathe out and then breathe in through their pores -
for they know that for this moment in time I am out of shoes and caressing the landscape that for my feet this is a natural way of being in the world.

I choose to hear the sounds of nature - some close by, some I have to silence myself more consciously to hear.

I choose to touch the plants, the rocks, the tree trunks, to feel the ocean caress my toes and then consciously take another step forward.

I choose to smell the air and breathe in the flavours of nature - smelling it is tasting it.

I choose to sit on a rock overlooking the ocean and look out and notice that the threshold of the horizon, where the sky and ocean meet, is a portal of deep healing. So I choose to sink into that landscape and feel the depth of below and the vastness of above fill me and hold me and tend to me.

Sometimes though I choose to stay inside

To sew
To read
To write
To cook something nourishing;

To pluck the strings on the harp
To meditate
To play the drum
To put the kettle on for a long slow pot of tea that I will pour for my heart, my soul, my inner voice to be heard;

To lay on the carpet and gently stretch, softly, mindfully, carefully.
To talk to a dear friend whose voice will soothe me and hold me.
To read to my children as we hug and sit close together.

Sometimes though I forget these wonderful things that have soothed the chaos within
Sometimes I remember them all the more for forgetting them.

What do you do when the busyness of life takes over?