Simple pleasures are often greatly underestimated - especially in our complex, sophisticated world. It has been over a month since my very sore arthritic joints had the pleasure of an exercise work-out in the warm water hydrotherapy pool at the Elks Rehab Hospital. But today they got back into warm water, and blessed me for it! It was not a miracle cure - the pain did not go away. It did, however, feel good to walk, and stretch, and do all manner of exercises in that soothing water. I had to stop myself from overdoing it, because it felt so liberating to be able to move sans cane or crutches.
I tried today to keep making time to keep things simple and to stay attentive. Deep breathing - frequent stretches - looking out the window - saying "no" to things that would only cause complications and not amount to any overall good - and when I hit a rather big bump in today's road and found myself quite upset, I talked about it with people I trust and then headed outside to my rocker on the deck and sang with the birds. Slowly the unpleasant emotions melted away, until I felt ok (not great, but ok was a vast improvement).
Baby steps.
As I settle into a rhythm for Holy Week, I find myself less and less interested in the "production" that is the planning and process of Holy Week in the Church, and drawn to simply being in God's presence - a simple way. The "little" way:
"To choose the little people, the little joys, the little sorrows and to trust that is is there that God will come close - that is the hard way of Jesus...Something in me always wants to turn the way of Jesus into a way that is honorable in the eyes of the world. I always want the little way to become the big way. But Jesus' movement toward the places the world wants to move away from cannot be made into a success story..." - Henri J.M.Nouwen - Show Me The Way - Daily Lenten Readings
What baby steps are you taking as you journey through Holy Week?
Blessings,
Kim
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