Last Friday I thought we were done with Louisiana snow days, for this winter anyway. Monday afternoon I snuggled in for a quiet three-day retreat. Food for thought. Rest for the soul. A balance of quiet and gentle activity.
During these days I happily rediscovered something : that contentment and peace comes from a stillness within. By nature I’m a person who enjoys people and activity but there comes a time when quiet is essential for everyone, even an extrovert. Respite, for me, has been through cooking , reading, watching a film or listening to music (which could be a bus-man’s holiday)…… until I discovered photography.
This week I recalled North Louisiana ice storms, my father’s patience and dedication, my mother’s humor and my brothers just being there and making life fun. Our family’s ability to ‘be’ without complaint. I don’t remember life being dull or going ‘stir crazy’ in the circle we lived. In retrospect, I’d say it was simple. Home was enough. It’s that comfort of ‘home’ I settled into for three days: cooking, reading and occasionally talking to family and friends near and far. Everything I needed I had within my ‘four walls’. I was content. Nourishment for the soul. 
Previous generations seemed to have less difficulty calming the soul. My mother had an uncanny ability to articulate all of life’s situations. My desire to always be
busy would sometimes lead her to these words: “You’re working yourself into a ‘tizzy’.” My grandfather’s: “You can’t have your cake and eat it too” puzzled me well into adulthood. But this one from a friend’s mother speaks to our difficulty or unwillingness to make choices, slow down, just “chill”: “You can’t catch every bus coming.” These pearls of wisdom still have relevance today. 
Perhaps even more-so…. in a society that has such difficulty being quiet, alone.
Even in an ice storm some people try to ‘catch every bus’ or wonder why the bus has stopped in the first place. . . being aware of the beauty that surrounds and staying in the moment. It’s all gift.
BethSings 