I keep reading about this idea that we can create a life that we do not need to take a vacation from. Anyone winning on that front? We are away at the moment, taking in great, thirsty gulps of fresh mountain air whilst we walk through billowing mist beside a lake. This morning was clear and bright and we sat outside soaking up rays of sunshine like lizards on a warm rock, dressed like comfortable ragamuffins. This reptile behaviour did not involved talking or reading or looking at screens. Our children caught fish and did handstands and threw balls and ran to and fro playing self-generated games with imaginary friends and animals and we took it in turns dozing the morning away. I am becoming increasingly aware of ways to experience rest even when the workload is high and we are not able to take a break, but I have a long way to go. We are only here for a few days and I can feel the high value on every moment of trying to get back to a place of being fully charged. Why did our batteries get so low in the first place?
The bible says that we should think on things that are lovely (Philippians 4 verse 8). What is lovely for you? All that is lovely for me comes rushing to the fore like the cyclonic winds that are predicted for this weekend. Dew drops and fluttering leaves and flowers cupped like little bowls catching sunlight. Hot air balloons, cellos, violins, drums, pianos, guitars strumming on the off beat, teal and plum, twins, leather shoes, bowls of pomegranates, poetry, big baskets, nail varnish that is not quite white and not quite pink, yellow like ripe wheat and the golden flash of a rainbow trout, polka dots, stripes, rose geranium tea one day and Earl Grey another. Shawls and layered clothing, abandoned children finding their families, pink play dough with glitter in it, the pout of a sleeping baby’s lips, people falling in love, sick people getting well, receiving letters and gifts, pens with long, thin nibs, balls of hand spun wool and Maidenhair ferns. To name a few. Just writing my lovely thoughts out for you has given me an unexpected lift. Life is a continual season of seed planting. Our thoughts, words and actions are seeds and, in time, we will reap the harvest of all that we have planted. What a powerful gift we have been given. That wherever we may be, we can use our minds’ eyes to generate all that is lovely, and in so doing, banish the boredom, fatigue and heaviness that may have begun to settle in. Think on something lovely today and enjoy a little bit of leisure time right here in the busyness of it all. There is absolutely no law against such a practice.
And then we have a most generous gift from the Creator in the natural world around us. I have never taken a walk and returned more grumpy than when I set off. Pounding the earth and breathing in the great outdoors has all of creation ministering to me in a way that nothing else can. Anne Frank said “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside…I firmly believe nature brings solace in all troubles.” If Anne Frank says so we can believe it. She had reason to be troubled. We might not be able to get to the seaside and we may have no leave, but nobody can stop us from walking outside, hanging from a low branch, picking a weed with a pretty bloom or taking our shoes off and sitting on the ground for a while, bare feet on the dust from which we were made.
What about waking up our senses. We might not be using them to the degree that we could be. Our eyes, ears, nose, tongue and sense of touch are just waiting to experience something that could make all the difference. My heart rate was going along nice and regular until I looked out the window just now and saw jewels, bright silver-white, flickering in the waves. The same steady heart expanded, enlarging to take in the gift of a beautiful sight. I can be folding washing at home but if I stand a while and admire my protea on the wall, painted by my artist friend, it’s like getting a vitamin B jab. My husband swears by them but our beings can be energised in many ways that do not involve an injection. On long, grey afternoons, filled with the ordinary, we turn on fairy lights and light a scented candle. We bake, as much for the taste as for the aroma which fills our home. My friend often gives me roses from her garden, and they smell like the roses of dreams unlike ones that are sold commercially and, so often, have no scent at all. Sometimes all a weary soul needs is to put a linen table cloth, worn and slightly crumpled, on the table. From time to time, I go outside at night to listen for night sounds. That there are Nightjars in the city amazes me. If I close my eyes I am on a remote farm under a starry sky and those little birds are singing their calming, repetitive lullabies. I got lavender hand cream for my birthday and now I am not sure if I can ever go without it. When I fall asleep at night, lying on my side with my hands cupped in unspoken prayers against my nose, a normal end to the day is turned into something rather exceptional. If you have any children in your life, touch one of their noses tenderly with your pointy finger. That’s something special right there. I understand that you are working very hard and that you might not be able to choose the environment that you work in; but you are allowed to flood yourself with all kinds of delights that will work their charm on your senses and rewind your fatigue.
So often the holiday, eventually, begins and the holiday-makers fall unwell, because they have the time to and a body can only cope with so much adrenalin. Getaways should allow a whole new level of rest, inspiration and perspective, they should not be critical recovery periods before heading back into the same, mad routine that got us into such a state of exhaustion in the first place. Are my days sprinkled with showers of all the things I enjoy or have I reached such a pace that I am putting on hold the enjoyment because there is far too much to do? Sometimes it is not so much a need to get away, it’s that in the scurry of life we put off all the tiny, ‘unnecessary’ pleasures. All added up they would bring a significant sparkle into the toughest day. Over time we could steadily decrease our stress levels and the need for emergency respite.
It’s important and necessary, don’t you think, that we intentionally usher in treats and activities that revive us, especially in this age of speed, productivity and the tendency to burn out from over achieving. In the same way eating nourishes our bodies, our souls can be starved, satisfied or saturated because of what we are ‘feeding’ on. We can discover the joy of a heart that is pleased, emotions profoundly touched, a mind alive with ideas and an imagination that knows no bounds as we think on lovely things. We can present ourselves with a feast of all that is wholesome and hearty for the senses. We can go outside for a moment, when the four walls begin to press in; outside where many knotted internal messes get, miraculously, untangled. I believe we can experience rest, fresh perspective and inspiration right where we are today, without so much as a weekend away on the horizon. I believe it and I am working on it.
Psalm 23 verses 1 – 3: The Lord is my Shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul.
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