Cherish the winter. Cherish its quietness, the time of going within to rest and heal. Cherish this time of preparation that must come before new life. Cherish the hope that lies beneath the snow. –Melody Beattie, Journey to the Heart
This morning, as I was reading the passage above, I realized why I feel a bit on edge: this winter has been anything but quiet and restful. I have been busy, busy, and busy beyond busy, but as of this moment, I am taking a page out of Melody Beattie’s book (pun intended) and strategizing ways to find rest and quiet in the middle of the busy. It can be done. I mastered the art of stillness in the midst of madness before and, by the grace of God, I can do it again.
The strange thing is that I began to accept this level of “all the time” busy as normal. Everybody seems out of control with busyness, and no one seems really okay with it. I see the desperation for respite and healing in the eyes of many as we cross paths. I hear the frenzy in their voices. The rush to “normalcy” during the height of pandemic has affected us in significant ways—especially (I think) those of us in (all levels of) education.
Therefore, we must be intentional—jealous even—about protecting ourselves and not allowing our jobs, our communities, and even our own aspirations to define what should be normal for us. We must take the reins (again) of our own lives and drastically eliminate the unnecessary.
It seems cliche, but it isn’t: take care of you.
About the Image: The beautiful leaf image was shot by my pen friend, Rebecca R (Beckra). It isn’t amazing how we can see in the leaf a whole tree?
I am joining Parul Thakur for #ThursdayTreeLove every second and fourth Thursday of the month. If you would like to play along, post a picture of a tree on your blog and link it back to her latest #treelove post.
Pics and Posts 
A unique and beautiful photo! I am encouraged by Melody Beattie’s lovely quote which I had not read before now. May you find many moments of peace rich with stillness.
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It’s been a struggle, but I will get there eventually. Thank you for dropping in and for appreciating Beckra’s photo!
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I agree! When I was younger with children at home, I remember being so busy all the time. The stress was crazy! When I switched to a part-time job, that felt amazing! I had 3 days off each week. We all need to find some down-time. I use Sunday as my “do nothing” day, just focusing on my relationship with God and family. I cherish my Sundays!
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For me, that’s Saturday. Knowing I have that one day of the week saves my sanity!
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It is crazy what we accept as normal.
Great post
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Isn’t it? Working on changing that for myself. How are you? Believe it or not…I still have mail for you. Sad, I know. Hopefully, it will arrive when you need it most.
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Another very important message. We must protect our joy and peace-our slow. That photo is stunning, by the way. ❤️
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Thank you for appreciating Beckra’s photo. And thanks to for the appreciating the post.:-)
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Terrific post, Chandra. We do need to guard our rest, relaxation, down time. And we need to, get rid of the shame that surrounds it. That has become normal too. ;o/ xoxoxo
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Yes, I’m too tired lately to muster up shame. LOL!
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Love the shot, your message and the quote. In my Yoga class this morning, the instructor said, “Don’t get so busy making a living that you forget how to live.” I felt it was profound and so true of what we do to yourselves. Taking care of us is important cos if not us, who will? Thanks Chandra for joining and I am looking forward to seeing you around on 26th. 🙂
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Yes. Let us not forget how to live. I hope to be joining in tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
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I would have thought we would have learned during the pandemic that extreme busyness is not something to aspire to. But here we are, trying to go back to the old ways even before we’ve healed completely from the trauma of that time. Maybe one of many reasons why mental illness is spiking in so many places? Loved the leaf picture, too. Alana ramblinwitham
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I am certain that is a reason we are having such an increase in mental healthy issues. We really have to do what is necessary to save our lives and our sanity, as Parul pointed out in her comment, no one else will. Thanks for loving the leaf. I will let my friend Rebecca know. Hugs…
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The leaf shot is stunning! I think it’s awesome!! The pace can go a bit slow. I agree. Too much of rushing around isn’t doing any good to anyone. We have not yet started working on healing ourselves as yet.
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