Watching the caramel deer 6-feet away you can feel the stillness around her. I try to quiet my mind as we walk through the forest. If I could be still, then I could feel the natural rhythm and flow of nature. It is hard though. My mind feels the need to process a hundred thoughts.
Can I really not think about work for nine days?
What would it be like to live daily with mountains, animals, rocks, water…..animals without collars that is?
Without concerns for earning a living, taking care of endless responsibilities, and just living in the moment.
It is interesting trying to be fully in the moment and letting go of the thoughts of everything else. As my now-adult kids play (like kids) in the rocky streams, it pulls my attention out of my head and into the place we are.
Learning to Slow Down the Hard Way
I don’t have a stressful job anymore. It isn’t like when I was in the corporate world and I had so much stress that I was afraid to relax for fear of falling apart and never regaining myself. Ultimately with the help of some severe burnout, that happened anyway. I did it the hard way.
I waited. I waited until I was always on alert, wired, tight, and exhausted.
God tries to show us much earlier where our own path is leading. It is ironic how few listen proactively. Why the human experience is one of self-made suffering, I guess, ventures back to Adam and Eve.
In response to crazy unabated stress and tension, I finally found God.
His way has only been better. Just as in the Garden of Eden, it was always better.
Now I try so hard to follow Him proactively. I know the difference…..and it is good.
But this world still has a powerful pull.
The Value of Simplicity
You don’t realize you have been compromised. At least I don’t. Not until I get away from the day-to-day routine. When I am embedded in a place where all of the wonders are God-made, not man-made. The miracle of God’s creation is that its complexity is delivered to us as simplicity.
Simple living. All provided by Him. An exhilarating experience hiking through the forest. A sunrise that defies art. A cool breeze that reduces temperatures and relaxes adrenaline.
The thoughts from home still flash through my head. Did I tell all of my clients I am on vacation this week? Is the cat okay? I should have paid that bill before I left.
As the week progresses, the flashing thoughts dwindle.
A strong desire for simplicity replaces it.
The message I have learned over my five decades is that simple is better. Less is more. Fewer and nicer are better than more.
I know God doesn’t promise us easy.
[Tweet “God never said life would be actually peaceful; only that we can experience His peace.”]
But I do believe that nature is an analogy.
There are unexplainable awe-inspiring wonders within nature; notwithstanding the complex ecosystems all in harmony within a chaotic world.
Can our lives be the same?
Can we reduce our focus to a few, albeit complex and important purposes?
Can our fewer mean simpler, even if they are hard, merely because our attention is laser-like?
Can we trust God and look for His will and plan for our lives?
Can we keep it simple?
Sue,
This is simply beautiful. Touches my heart because it is so true. Before my divorce 5 years ago, my girls and I would hike the Smokies every other week-end while living in Knoxville, TN. I would tell my 3 daughters while we walked the many trails that it was our ‘heaven on earth’. It was a place for solitude and where I felt closest to God. We knew that we would be ok because God was with us. I am three years married now to a very good man. And, we are simply living a simple life! When the hamster wheel of life consumes me, I close my eyes and remember my place of solitude in the Smokie Mts. and can still hear the rushing of cold creek water. Thank you for the gentle reminder that we can easily get caught up in the chaos of this world and find rest in the Lord by the renewing of our mind. Thanks for your simple words of truth.
Hi Lorraine! I keep my pictures close so I can remember the solitude when things get hectic! Thanks for sharing and visiting here!