Sarah talks about the Quakers again, how they are a good example of "the delicate balance of living in the world but not belonging to it. This is because they refuse to segment their lives into the Sacred and the secular. Instead, Quakers believe that all of life's daily experiences are spiritual in nature."
"It is not cutting ourselves off from life but entering deeply and fully into it."
-George Gorman
Sarah talked about how simplicity stitched their lives together, and rhythm, reverence and reflection are their trademarks.
Start Quote
"Restoring a sense of rhythm to our lives is the first step...
Children are not the only ones who need regular bedtimes, mealtimes, and quiet times.
Their mothers do, too.
Think of the steady, reassuring rhythm of the natural world - the ebb and flow of the tides, the recurring cycle of the four seasons, the monthly phases of the moon, and the daily progression from day into night.
Rhythm needs to be the cornerstone in our personal world as well.
All of us lead busy lives, some more frantic and frazzled than others.
We need to learn where to draw the line and how to say 'no'.
...
Your heart will always tell you what's working and what's not."
End Quote
Let me tell you from my experience in arranging, playing, and teaching music...rhythm does not always come easy. If you work on it, it can become as easy as breathing. But it is impossible for it to happen overnight. Don't expect to just become perfect at these things overnight.
Also, learning to set boundaries and learning to say no, super important. I liked this article, but you can just google learning to set boundaries and you'll get all kinds of good stuff.
I liked the talk What Lack I Yet? I feel like most of the time if you're not getting the rhythm right you need a teacher, you need help.
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Gratitude Journal
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1) Piano lessons. I love having friends over in my home. This morning a mother and her daughter came over and she sat her down frantically with her oatmeal and ran out to get the baby from the car. My kids swarmed her, eager to see what she had that they didn't, then swarmed the baby to cheers of "Baby! Baby! Baby!". Then we got to play music. It isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be, but it does take time and work. It's pretty awesome seeing what she has accomplished, while her little girl clings to her chest because she doesn't want to go play with my kids upstairs and I hold that beautiful 5 month chunky goodness bouncing him to the beat of his mother playing. It's almost magical.
2) Pajama days. Today was a pajama and laundry day. The amount of laundry that I got done while lounging around in my pjs gave me a strange sense of euphoria that was almost intoxicating.
3) Lullabies. I try to read to the kids before nap time and before bed time...it doesn't always happen. But lullabies, those are a must. Wrapping each baby up and rocking them while singing in their ear every day is so centering.
4) Rocking chairs. Lullabies and cuddled up babies wouldn't be as amazing without a rocking chair.
5) Naps. I got a nap today. By the end of the nap all three kids were in bed with me. How'd I get so lucky?
6) FHE. This is the first time we've had FHE in forever. Every Monday night has been crazy busy since November, Tuesdays were scouts, Wednesdays my night off, then all of a sudden it's Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday whelp it's Monday again...It was kind of crazy how the spirit came in just because we sat down as a family, opened with a prayer, sang Keep the Commandments, and then watched a cartoon about the 10 commandments.
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