Finding Time to Transform

I have been a fan of Martha Beck’s writing for many years and like to dip in and out of her writing to give me something to think on. This week, I rediscovered my Feedly app in a moment when I wanted something to read and found her latest blog post: Time to Transform. In it she says:

“Wherever you are, use this strange time to notice any place where you’ve been feeling deadened, barren. Find the wild side of yourself, the person you’d be if you lived in the present and did what brought you joy, like an animal. Begin nurturing that part of yourself. Listen to it. Be kind to it.”

I thought there was a lot of wisdom in what she was saying about slowing down and checking in to see what you are feeling. I like what she said about living in the present and finding your wild side, it reminds me of my youngest, my little Wildling.

Then I got to thinking about my busy day and the routine I have fallen into, almost like a river running through a course, not veering, but following it’s natural, unstoppable flow – work and home school, lunch, prayers, work, nap, prayers, food prep and iftar, blogging and coffee, prayers, sleep, iftar and prayers and repeat. From one thing to the next, finding quieter, slower moments when I can, but always with an eye on the next thing and mindful of the needs of everyone around me being met.

With such indelibly marked out days, where do we build in the time for reflection and transformation? That too in a month of reflection and positive transformation, at a time when we have been forced to stay in a kind of seclusion. I don’t have an answer, but it has given me something to think about and the inspiration to find quite moments to journal, be still and listen inwards.

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