Thursday, January 14, 2010

CALM SPIRIT


Have you had this kind of day when everything seems to turn upside down, when every nook and cranny of your day spells doom and gloom? Oh maybe that’s an exaggeration but it does happen. I know because I have had that kind of day or days when nothing seems to work and anything that I try to do falls flat on my face. And I rush here and there frantic to find a solution. It’s crazy. It gets me huffin’ and puffin’ like the big bad wolf in that nursery rhyme but the problems just won’t go away. So it leaves me with frazzled nerves and holding a bucketful of odds and ends that don’t fit. And then I lose my composure, my calm, my peace.


So where do I go from there?


Slow down. That’s what Mom would always tell me. “Slow down, child. Remember Rome wasn’t built in a day.” But I paid no attention. I never really appreciated what that meant. Because I saw slowing down as a big waste on my time. So I plodded on with my usual so-called brilliant maneuvers to sort things out. Don’t we always smugly think that we have all the answers?!! Yet it didn’t work out, things just got more messed up in the rush and flurry maze I got myself into.


That afternoon sitting at my desk I felt the world tumble down on me, felt like everything I did suddenly were falling apart or have already. I pushed my chair away from the desk angry at myself, stood up and walked to the window. Nope, I didn’t find any answers there – not in an empty lifeless street, not on that old man idly standing on the corner seemingly enjoying his cigarette, not on that street dog lazily curled up sleeping on the sidewalk content and uncaring, not in the boring sky with an equally boring spread of boringly white clouds above. In fact, the scene before me seemed to have been frozen in time – no movement, no action, just very still.


Slow down, Mom said.


That empty lifeless street in a few minutes will come alive with people and vehicles passing to and fro going about their day’s usual business. That old man after finishing off his cigarette will probably head back home and carry on with his tasks as father and grandfather of the house. That lazy street dog when he wakes up will resume his barking at anything that catches his fancy or threatens his turf. And that boring sky will change from sunny to gray, from sunrise to sunset and will move all of life along with it.


But they all stood briefly for one moment to simply slow down.


"Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset." --Saint Francis de Sales




6 comments:

  1. Thats a very valuable post, which has a big lesson in it..yes it's very imp to slow down, coz to retain inner peace we need to keep a check on ourselves, which in a hurry we tend to neglect :)

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  2. Hi Sana,

    Your every visit and message is a pleasure and delight for me. :-)

    Yup, it's valuable truly. But I have to bungle a lot before I finally got to learn it. Lols! :-)

    Thanks for dropping by. Hope you're having a lovely week. Blessings to you and your family.

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  3. Hi Ellen;

    I only realized how important it is to be calm amidst any chaos upon reading this post of yours.

    More often than not, I always seem to be in a hurry and confused in everything I do, to the extent of sacrificing so much.

    Now, I should put in heart and mind this ending words of your post from Saint Francis de Sales...or I should copy it now and have it printed on a paper, put it on top of my table and even in my own bedroom to remind me every time that I need to be calm.

    Thanks so much Ellen. I was relieved a lot.

    Good day and God bless!

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  4. Hi Amity,

    That makes two of us so relieved after reading those beautiful lines of Saint Francis de Sales. Inner peace for me was quite elusive, especially in the workplace then. But Mom wouldn't let up until I truly understood what I was doing to myself. Am glad she hammered it into my stubborn head. Lols! Finally have learned my lesson and am sure she'd be smiling now from up there. :-)

    So glad to see you, Amity. Hope your new year started out well cos I expect God to pour out tons of blessings for you and your family.
    Thanks for this lovely visit and message. :-)

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  5. Ellen,

    Amazing post - so simple fact and yet to complicated lives! Its always, always a pleasure reading what you say. And whenever I come & read IN RETROSPECT, its more like listening to you then just reading your words.

    I agree and would say, over last 2 years I have calmed down a little though I still get those days of upside down feeling :-)

    Nevertheless...its always a treat reading IN RETROSPECT.

    Love & Wishes. God Bless.

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  6. Oh but I get the bigger share of the pleasure and treat when wonderful friends like you, Jigyasa, come visiting the blog and reading the posts. Oh my, it warms the heart so! :-)

    Thanks for this lovely visit and for such an inspiring message. :-) Take care and God bless!

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:-) Here's where I warmly welcome you and where you leave your footprints behind with fond memories attached to it of wonderful chats and friendships. Thank you for your comments. Or send your comments to ellen622@gmail.com. Will be seeing you in your blog too. God bless you!