finding our groove

Finding our new groove is not proving to be such an easy task over here for me. With so much going on in life I kept telling myself that throwing just one more baby into the mix really wouldn’t upset the flow of things too much. I would simply just throw him in the sling and resume life as usual. Ha! My inner voice kept telling me just how irrational of a thought that was, but I choose to ignore it, assuring myself that I knew better than that inner voice of mine.

It’s like I forget every time…even the fifth time around…just how much life adjusts. How much time goes into nursing, sitting, holding, changing, smiling, cuddling, bouncing, rocking, dressing…living…adding a whole new dish of life to all that already existing life we’ve got going on over here. And at the core of it all is a little message I know SO well…slllooooowwww down.

Sit down.
Hold me.
Stop doing too much.
Just take a break.
Rest.
Take care of yourself (and me).
Take a deep breath.

Ahhhhh…that’s better.

Babies (and children of all ages) always know what’s best for us, even when it doesn’t seem like what we want or where we want to be or how we want to be doing it. They are a deep and noble lesson to honor, because by honoring their message, we honor ourselves.

I don’t know why listening to their lessons seems difficult at times….sometimes even impossible. If I take the statement I made above, it would signify that very often it is hard to honor ourselves…and my list above…to stop doing too much and slow down. What is too much? What can honoring the self look like?

I truly believe that anything is possible with some creative thinking, even finding time where there seems to be none. Even creating peace where the seems to be chaos. Any thought that tells us otherwise are simply hurdles we choose to put there. Not enough money, time, space, [insert excuse here]. Sometimes we just need a little reminder, like some whining from my children and a baby who always benefits from rhythmic step, to create the space needed for some time together outside adventuring…toward connection…with each other; with ourselves.

“There is a criterion by which you can judge whether the thoughts you are thinking and the things you are doing are right for you. The criterion is: Have they brought you inner peace? If they have not, there is something wrong with them / so keep seeking! If what you do has brought you inner peace, stay with what you believe is right.”

~Peace Pilgrim

As we venture a little bit closer each day toward finding our new groove, I will remind myself to take it slow. In time it will come. In the meantime I need to find peace in the spaces and gaps that exist from here to there, knowing that someday I will yearn to be back where I am right now.