What Did You Do With That Extra Hour?
What to Do with an Hour?
We turned back our clocks one hour last week. Many of us were all a-twitter as to what we could do with an extra hour. Sleep in, go for a walk, or get a jump on the forever growing “To-Do” list.
If you’re like me, you daydream about having extra time. I really savored the thought of setting our clocks back on the same weekend I went to visit family. It gave me just a bit more time to visit, talk, reminisce and to laugh about the foibles of aging. To spend time with my two brothers and see, hear and feel the connection that genes and God have brought together was such a blessing to me.
And then we came home. My calendar brought me back to time and the lack there of. Sifting through emails, bills, laundry, and the list of things to accomplish this week gave rise to a sense of anxiety. Yuk!
I went to bed and rose with a plethora of thoughts and chores threatening to obscure a new, cooler and fresh morning. Rather than be taken over by my mental mayhem, I chose to start walking with the sounds of music plugged into my ears to squelch the cacophony in my mind. As I started down the street I spotted a family of deer. I stopped and watched as they surveyed the land around them. They looked so serene and calm and I strove to emulate them by slowing my breathing and relaxing my stance. I stood still. As they became aware of me, they neither bolted nor moved, even continuing to smell the ground. And then slowly, as if satisfied that I would be no threat they made their way into the preserve. The last deer turned around one last time before disappearing into the preserve, looked at me, and paused as if to say – “Peace be with you”. And then he was gone.
My mind’s mayhem and cacophony were gone also. It was replaced by the peace of the early morning dew, cool air and a visit with the small herd of deer. As I continued my walk, it was with a new vision of what I wanted this day to be like. While I needed to get certain things done; I would savor the little moments that sweetened it. I would look for them, find them, and stop to enjoy them. I would not be threatened by my list of “To-Do’s”. Rather, when faced with possible mayhem I would take a page from my neighbors, the deers, and merely journey on in serenity and faith that the best is yet to be.
May you find peace today in the small moments of time that grace our frenetic lives as we journey on.
What did you do with the extra hour this past week?
Thank you for reading my post. If you have found it encouraging please consider liking, commenting or sharing it. Feel free to comment here or even re-blog – may these words take flight!
I have additional insights I’d love to share with you found in the pages of my debut book: Surviving Medical Mayhem – Laughing When It Hurts. To order a copy or learn more go to my website at www.lorettaschoen.com
Blessings for Health & Wellness.