Life Is More

Trying to live with eyes wide open…

Learning not to be afraid to slow down the moments and actually see them.

I want to remember the details.

I stop to listen to the geese honking. I hear them before I see them coming over the horizon. I notice the gray blue of a winter-like sky. If colors could actually be cold, then this would be the one. I can’t see the sun behind the clouds, but I know it is there because of the pink tinge around the clouds. No blazing sunset this evening, only the soft pale glow around the cold.

I hear the crunch of the snow as I trudge over to the barn, the air is crisp…and so still. Although, sounds carry so well in the cold I stop and I listen to the stillness.

I notice the barn across the road, perfectly silhouetted between the barren limbs of the trees. Although it is still November, the golden yellows and oranges are long replaced with empty gray branches.  Currier and Ives has nothing on the picture set before me.

I take note of the warm puddle of light, splashed through the kitchen window as I walk back to the house, inviting me back inside. Inside where I see my daughter stirring the pot of vegetable soup for me, steam rising. Dinner almost ready.

The stresses of the day melt away.

I still have things to do. I have a lot on my schedule….but, slowing down allows me to appreciate more.

The seemingly little things become the big things…and life is more.

Thank you God, for the gift of slowing down.

 

It Has Changed Me

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I can hear my foot steps as I meander through the dry grass. The dog stops and sniffs the air, smelling the scent of something unseen to me. The sun hangs low in the sky, as the evening takes on the subdued hues of twilight. I stop and look toward the horizon. The silhouettes of the trees, dark against the fading light. I enjoy walking in the evening. There is a peace for me at that time of the day. The day is drawing to a close, and whether or not I have finished all I had planned is no longer important.

Time is valued the most when the pace is slow.
I am realizing this more and more. When I have too much to do, when the urgent steals the minutes, I lose time. Precious time. Sure, there are still twenty-four hours in each day regardless of schedule, but what is time for, if not to enjoy it?  There are too many things in this life that pull at peace. I never want to regret time lost, to that which is not worthy.

I drove down the road yesterday and saw a wild, mama turkey with her two babies. Last week a mama deer with her two fawn. I smell the fresh cut grass as I watch my husband ride across our yard. I notice the smile on the oldest son’s face as he shows off his new (used) car. I feel the scruff of  my son’s stubble against my cheek when  I receive a quick kiss. I hear the sound of the door slam as my daughter goes to take care of her horse. I appreciate the short back rub that I get. I laugh out loud at the antics of the dogs, and shrug my shoulders at the spilled food dishes. I smell the scent of vanilla and cinnamon in the air, and enjoy the blast of cold from the freezer while getting some ice for my tea.

Soon, I will hear the Canadian geese flying overhead and know that they carry the crisper, cooler days of Autumn, with them. The corn will fade and the tractors will chug with the sounds of harvest. The skies will turn gray, and there will be the hint of wood smoke in the air. The summer of 2012 will fade into memories. That is what I mean. Time….it moves on. That is why it is so important to me to enjoy the days, the moments, that make up this life….because they will not be here forever.

Slowing down, enjoying…..changes things.

It has changed me.

 

Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.  James 4:14 NIV

 

 

 

Related articles

• Cowboys Scents (wildandwickedcowboys.wordpress.com)
• The Smells of Summer (labeldaddy.com)
• Top 10 Advantages to Slowing Down (basicorganization.wordpress.com)
• Close encounters of the coyote kind (retrieverman.wordpress.com)
• The slow route… (dailylifemeditation.wordpress.com)
• Unseen (enrapturedgirl.wordpress.com)
• Awash In Twilight (randomreflectionz.com)

Proper Perspective

Aaahhhhh….perspective.

Sometimes it is so very difficult to grasp.

The day to day things seem so big. The urgent overtaking the ordinary.

My vision, clearly focuses on the details.

Get this done, get that taken care of……

I forget the big picture. It is so easy.

I find it difficult to relax. Often, I feel guilty when I slow down…as if I will miss something.

And yes, I can and will miss things if I don’t slow down.

Slowing down really is the essence of things, isn’t it?

Time sifts through my hands like sand, and I wonder where it goes?

The only way to “capture” time, is to enjoy it.

See things. Really, truly, see things.

******************************************8

A favorite praise chorus of mine, is….
Open the eyes of my heart Lord
open the eyes of my heart

I want to see You
I want to see You

To see you high and lifted up
shining it the light of Your glory
Lord, pour out your power and love
as we sing Holy, Holy, Holy…

 

 

Related articles

• The Mayonnaise Jar (recipeforabeautifullife.wordpress.com)
• Getting Started: Tips for On-the-Go Photography (blogher.com)
• Louie at the Coast (mossandfog.com)

Taking The Time

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was the view from my seat in the mini-van. It is not unusual for my family to see Amish, when we are out on the road.

We often say, “Out here in rural Ohio, one has to always stay aware of the Amish and the deer when driving.”

There’s one thing about being on the road with the Amish… one is forced to slow down. That is not such a bad thing.

Slowing down. Looking around. Appreciating  the journey…. and not just speeding,  in a blur, towards the destination.

Isn’t that a good lesson for us all? For how to live life?

I can say for myself, some of the best views are when I am taking the time to look.

A slower pace. Appreciating the trip…one moment at a time.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven…Ecclesiastes 3:1  NIV

**********************************************

Have a glorious Saturday, my friends. Appreciate the journey.

“Slow down and enjoy life. It’s not only the scenery you miss by going to fast-you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.”

—Eddie Cantor

Related articles

• ‘The Amish’ film captures vivid, intimate images of a famously shy and reclusive American religious culture (dailymail.co.uk)
• Ky. Amish Teen Killed When SUV Strikes Buggy (abcnews.go.com)
• Seven Held Over Amish Beard-Cutting Attacks – Sky News (news.sky.com)

Happy Sigh

Image via Wikipedia

Today is Friday. It has been a fun week.

My birthday. My son’s birthday.

Today is sunny, after all the rain.

Things are good. Happy sigh.

Some days I stare up into the heavens… I really see the beautiful sky and puffy, cotton clouds .I watch the stars sparkle.

I really look at my half made bed with the beautiful white quilt.

I really feel the arms encircling me in a hug.

I really taste the orange and jasmine green tea.

I really smell the lavender in the dryer sheets.

I really hear the laughter.

Some days my senses seem so alive. I wonder what I’m like on most days? Are my senses dulled to the world around me? Am I on autopilot that I can’t really appreciate what it is that I have?

I long to live this life…my life…with my eyes wide open. Open to all there is. All the things to be wildly thankful for.

As one of my favorite authors writes, “Life is not an emergency”. Yet, so many times I choose to live the opposite.

Why do I rush through my days? What am I racing headlong into? So busy, doing what? Don’t have time?

I need to live.

Now.

In this moment.

**********

Do you ever find yourself wanting to slow down? Do you ever take the time to just stop what you are doing, and give thanks?

Related articles

• Sigh… I need to search out some fun. (lettersmith.wordpress.com)
• A Mystery Solved (zulkey.com)

Graffiti Art

I can hear the sound of the whistle. The train is nearby. The ground shakes as the freight moves closer. Flashing lights.

I got stopped yesterday at the RR crossing in town. The train was long…and it was in no hurry. I sat for 12 minutes, parked, as the cars rolled by. There is something about a train. I’m not sure what it is…almost mesmerizing…the clack, clack, clack as the cars pass over the rails. Trains slow us down. Whether we like it or not. Yesterday, I chose to like it.

Since I was the first car at the guard, I had a great view of the train car graffiti. Have you ever had opportunity to really look at the graffiti that is sprayed  all over the train? Honestly, a lot of it was really good stuff. I know people should not spray paint on other people’s property. It is vandalism. That is just the truth. But, if I owned a train I think I’d hire some kids to “paint” it. Um….I’d call it something like “Art On The Rails”.

One graffiti artist had painted an entire person on the car.  I was thoroughly impressed with the detail.

As it turns out, the brief intermission of rail road art was just what I needed.

Living in the moment.

Enjoying something as simple as graffiti.

And I drove away, smiling.

Related Articles

• Graffiti truck is a street art throwback (nydailynews.com)
• T Magazine: Tag He’s It (tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Reverse Graffiti? (uyellelle.wordpress.com)
• Teen charged with widespread graffiti (cbc.ca)
• Graffiti Thoughts: Notes Part Two (socyberty.com)