Tuesday, August 7, 2012

Mindful Giving - Day Six

Monday, August 6, 2012

For the last few years, I've had a soothing morning routine. After the hustle -- and conflict -- of getting the girls to school on time, I would return to my parked car and simply sit for a few moments. While taking in the morning light falling across the field and illuminating the charming nearby church, I would take some calm, deep breaths. Usually I would take account of the prior day's spending. Sometimes I would make a few to do lists for the day or the week, before returning home where many obligations were vying for my attention.

This year my routine has had to change. Now my younger daughter's school starts 20 minutes earlier. That means I have to drop her off first, and then take my older one to middle school. Where there is no lovely field and no calm place to park. But I miss those few moments of reflection and re-grouping.

Today I realized that I already know the perfect place to go for some tranquility. There is a small labyrinth in my town that I haven't been to in years. I used to walk there regularly, but somehow I lost the habit. Now it's just up the street from my drop off. It's easy to run right on up to this lovely site and take a few peaceful moments. I'll do my car-sitting/planning for the day, and then I can get a bit of movement by walking the path. It's fresh, it's outdoors, it's serene, and it's sacred. I love it. I've always been better at walking meditation than sitting.

When I parked my car, I was surprised to see everything so much as I remembered it. The worn gravel lot, the well-tended plants lay in the soft morning light. Beautiful white roses ringed the path. And Grace, the shining white statue of an angel, still stood vigilant at the labyrinth's start. My gift for the day was a $5.00 donation in the hinged lock box to support the upkeep of this wonderful resource.

I look forward to many peaceful mornings there.
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I already wrote about cleaning up the crazy ants!

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