Nothing can bring you Peace but Yourself – Ralph Waldo Emerson
At 40 I finally gave birth to my first child. I had so many plans to journal the experience. I was so sure I would write about my pregnancy. I didn’t. Not even when I resigned from my job a month before my due date.
I was even more certain I’d start writing once our son was born. Surely I wouldn’t want to miss out on detailing each exciting development, my hopes, my fears, my delights, my frustrations… well, our boy is 10 months old in 2 days and I’m only just starting to write about him – my whole world – now.
Until now, this magical new phase of my life’s journey, has gone unchronicled. I had absolutely no idea how all encompassing a task motherhood would be.
And yet, during this precious time I started doing something else that I’ve long wanted to include as part of my daily ritual: I began to include quiet time – time to pray or meditate or visualise or simply sit in silent reverie, being, bonding with my baby, my family, my surroundings, my Creator or myself.
As a new Mom this deeply special quiet time happens naturally each time my baby settles in for a long feed. Life slows to a murmur as a peace, enveloped in love, descends on us both. In these moments of magnificent stillness I feel at one with my child, with all mothers, with all humanity.
Time stands still… until my body starts to ache or tingle somewhere from whichever awkward posture I find myself in, or I have to make my great escape to “do” again.
Oftentimes, I’ve found myself wondering how I will manage the faster pace of life once these “allowed” “break times”, these “mini holidays” in my day, come to an end. Perhaps that explains why I’m still breast feeding young Benjamin. My life feels so balanced right now, with busy hours during Ben’s alert time interspersed with moments of calm and tranquillity.
How will we keep up this closeness we share once Ben weans? And will I feel as calm and balanced as I have done these past months? I suspect the trick will be to incorporate this new-found habit of taking time to be quiet into my daily life.
The question is… how? Just putting it out there…
So this is the next small improvement I believe could lead to staggering long-term results: carve out time in each day to be still, to take quiet time.
Originally Posted on 1st August 2014 by Lauren Kinghorn