Taking A Step Back

As you all know, life has been pretty busy for me lately and in the busy-ness of it all, one can get a bit lost. I have a better understanding of those folks that live that rushed hamster wheel lifestyle now. I have to admit, its sometimes hard to look beyond the "stressors", the things that demand attention. But...and that is a huge word in this instance, but for me there is a world of simplicity right in my home and certainly out my back door. I did not always understand the importance of it. Last month I was saying to everyone in the family that I wanted a clothes dryer. Telling them I wanted to surrender to the 21st century and enjoy some convenience, ( I did get a cell phone by the way, but have not used it a full hour yet) however, each day these past few weeks that I had to do laundry and go hang them up, (Emery hung more than one load up for me, the sweet man when I was so tired) I stepped off the back porch and saw so many wonderful sights in nature, the very things that calm a soul, bring you back to what counts in life. I may have been "doing" all day long but at that moment in time, that simple act of hanging clothes, before me was green grass, leaves dancing in the breeze, chickens pecking the ground for a bite to eat, roses bursting forth in color, the sky above me, a masterpiece. I would see the ripening of fruit in the trees or the ready to harvest vegetables in the garden. I would see the kittens playful in the tall grass that grows along the fence line. All these sights renewed me and I know without a doubt that had it not been for the NEED to hang clothes I would have found comfort in a chair watching some mindless thing on TV or just gazing off into no wheres land because I was just too tired to do something. The need to hang clothes outside in the beauty got me past the point of wanting to just stay put and stay in this worn out stressed feeling.The clothesline is medicine for times like this.

When our world is busy, we want change from it. We may not even recognize what is causing this restlessness, but what it is, is that we want to be able to take a step back and relax, rejuvenate our hearts and minds. Instead of going to the core of the matter to see what we can do to change things or maybe just realize this is a short season in our life that is demanding more of us, like my life right now. So because we take no time to find the source of the restlessness we shoot for changing the surroundings or our clothing. We might buy new drapes, paint a room, shop for a new look, go out to eat to a new restaurant, that sort of thing. Then the fact stares at us that we spent more than we should have, changed the color of the room, only to find the worn out feeling still remains.

Its important to take a step back and look at our lives. I am just now learning this. I have spent my whole life being impatient and not bothering to take this step back, let some quiet time come into being so that I can look at things for what they are. In the past I would just rush into re-doing the house, or go for a new look. Only to repeat the process a few months later because that unsolved restlessness still existed. Today, its just easier to hang clothes, hike, lay on the grass watching the clouds pass by, pray and be refreshed from the busy-ness of life and see that its just for a season and soon things will be quite ordinary and simple once again.

I think in the olden days, they knew all this and home and the family farm was a sanctuary in times of stress and demand.

A vine of morning glories making its way up the bird feeder pole