Symbols.
Images.
Proliferation of communication with no filters.
We are buried in information overload about our social climate, our political climate and our economic climate. I have become exhausted by all of it. I know too much and too much of it isn't worth knowing.
"Knowledge" has lead me to intense feelings of hopelessness at times. We all suffer from it whether we know it or not and our unspoken plea (found in our struggles) is Don't tell me HOW to embrace a more meaningful life; SHOW me.
Lately, a new peace has descended upon me. The first phase was leaving home. The travel from home to here in Missouri started to strip away the noise and static of life that so filled my heart and mind.
News of the day has been obliterated; social media has been substantially reduced; prayer, reflection, and action are becoming more a part of my daily rhythm. Feeling and being in the moment is starting to take center stage.
I'm cooking with pleasure. What a surprise this is. Living in community has re-ordered how I perceive my daily tasks and responsibilities. There is a much more general feeling of simplicity and a desire to get outside of my head. It is a huge relief to strip away the things that were weighing me down. And I don't necessarily mean material things so much as re-ordering priorities that are now leading to a life centered on God.
This re-ordering is making me happier, more peaceful, more accepting (but not fatalistically so) and, unexpectedly, more loving and conscious of my husband. These changes aren't subtle either. I thought I was all the things I mentioned and, to a degree, I was. However, stripping away the noise of life shows you just how diminished or, worse yet, absent those things can be in a life. Traveling this road is showing me that our loved ones can become habits. Of course, I love my family. It's a habit. It needs no explanation. But, for me now, this is something that I know should not be a habit that is taken for granted. It needs to be a living and breathing daily reality.
If this all has happened so quickly, then I can't begin to imagine what lies ahead, what God has in store for me. But, I sure am looking forward to the discovering despite the information overloaded world we live in.
God bless you all and please pray for us.
3 comments:
You're getting a double whammy, Anne. Leaving Turlock's noise (I have it here), the continual bombardment of expectation, the wedding (even if it was a labor of love), and every one of your neighbors and friends. It's like stepping off the edge of the world, and finding out you didn't crash and burn. :) You're doing great, Lady.
Should you decide, when you get home, to pick and box your house for new carpeting, let me know, and I'll help you. LOL! B
Lol. By the time i get home, i won't care about the carpet. It won't be relevant. Hugs.
Wonderful post!
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