Growing up I could not wait to visit my grandparents because that usually meant time to play with my cousins. The anticipation and excitement that usually surrounded our visits could occupy my mind for days. We never really knew what adventure we would take, but we knew there would always be one.
It was a beautiful world in which we lived forts created from bed sheets held by rubber bands and clothespins on the backs of chairs, bedsheets transformed into beautiful wedding dresses, lakes and mountains built in the sandpile, walks down the gravel road, football in the front yard, basketball in the back, sometimes running through cotton or cornfields, rides on the four wheeler, aimlessly walking with one another sticks in our hand to fend off who knows what, or just sitting on the back porch looking at the pear tree. No matter what we did or where we went there was a quiet, gentle rhythm that we found in just being together.
At the end of the day, tears were usually shed and our quiet smiles would temporarily disappear, but would soon resume when we were reminded of the next time that we would get to be together.
Finding rest in the rhythm of a busy life can be challenging at times. The quiet many times is overrun by outside chatter, the gentleness further disrupted by deadlines and orders of what people need done, our lists overrun with adventures that we do not necessarily always want to be on, and soon we can find ourselves aimlessly wandering not really knowing a clear direction to go. Post-traumatic stress can be like this and cutting down the chatter or quietly working through an issue can be tricky at times. Some people find it helpful to Identify a list of activities that can restore their peace and rest in the rhythm of life:
Prepare for when things don’t go according to plan.
Ease into new situations.
Anticipate good things in life.
Call a friend just to see how they are.
Engage in peaceful and productive activities.
Ya’ll have a beautiful day!
All My Love,
Jen
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