Stretching and Growing

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Sometimes Life seems too full.

Maybe we are simply being stretched,

we are being asked to grow.

Circumstances beyond our control

enter, intrude, erode,

demand space.

Stress increases.

Certain usual and customary foundations of Life

are overlooked,

forgotten.

Balance has changed.

Essential elements

are missing.

Over the last months,

we had not spent as much time

preparing Food.

Meals were quick,

an afterthought.

Meal times

lost their usual rhythm.

Blessings at Meals faded,

sometimes forgotten.

I missed our daily walks.

My usual focus and balance

in Nature

had softly faded.

In the swirl of the moments demands,

I had not even noticed changes.

~~~~

In the noting,

a subtle shift is happening.

~~~~

I am making a conscious effort

to reclaim

those foundations of our Lives.

I am saying "no" to some things

that can be set aside for now.

I am letting go

of the extensive and exhaustive list

of "to do's"

and my usual high expectations of myself.

That's hard,

but I am doing it.

I began fixing

our most favorite, nurturing meals,

those meals that wrap us in love.

I have been looking out into Nature a little,

which is more than I was doing before.

The Squirrels dance in the Trees

and tease me to come outside.

I am open to the growing.

I am grateful for all that is.

~~~~

Glinda Crawford, 2011

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