{simple moments} with Sarah from Snippets of Thyme

Today I am so happy to have the darling Sarah of Snippets of Thyme sharing her inspiration on finding joy in simple moments.  It seems fitting that Sarah would be visiting today, seeing as we both have children graduating high school this year- mine actually graduates today!  Sarah is a wonderfully supporting and encouraging friend who really does understand so many of the feelings that I am experiencing these days.  I also think she brings a wealth of experience when it comes to appreciating simplicity as she has lived in numerous locations, sometimes in completely different cultures.  I definitely think one gains a greater understanding of what really matters in times such as those.  You can visit Sarah at her blog Snippets of Thyme~

The older I become, as I witness my children grow into late teen years, I most certainly hear all of the adages of wisdom begin to slip into my daily dialogue.  ”Slow down, find peaceful moments, don’t always be in a hurry.” I urge my two children more often.  The other day, we snickered at my son’s English assignment  because it asked him to “meditate” by himself and then write a creative essay on wandering through a field and coming upon a house.  The rest of the story was left to his imagination.  After our tawdry comments were spun out, I noticed him actually treat the assignment seriously.  He piled comfy pillows on the couch, closed his eyes, and began typing.  I took silent pleasure in watching him reach a higher level of maturity than I could have predicted.  My hope is that he is somehow learning, in this current world of “triple-tasking” to slow himself down, find a simple moment to think, meditate, create, and enjoy.  This planet will spin onward whether we can keep up with it or not, so its up to us to find the simple moments, make them stop spinning for a moment, and relish their powers to define the best part of our lives.
Being at my husband’s family home recently certainly reinforced this yearning  for a “simpler” life that we try to extend to our children.  Everything ebbs and flows at a slower more relaxed place at my in-laws.  The trees that soar into the sky swish and sway in the winds, creating a soothing rhythmic background.  Meals, schedules, and conversations are casual, carefree, and relaxed.  Salads are punctuated with fresh herbs from the garden.  Wheat roll dough is punched and kneaded as we all sit together in casual conversation. We sit outside in the back woods just listening…to the simplest of sounds.   No cars whooshing by on the highway, no construction projects noisily expanding their presence, or phones ringing and e-mails dinging.  We hear one bird chirping in the woods…and then another responding with its own sweet chirp in answer.  We watch lazily as one squirrel rummages in the leaves and then scampers up its tree back to its nest.  We all exchange sleepy glances, smile, revel in the scent of nature’s perfume, and listen blissfully to her simplest and most beautiful of songs.

Be Sociable, Share!

•