August Threads:: Tiny Pauses
Monthly prayer practice to enter into God's rhythm
Being a parent with an inbox full of all of the newsletters on how to do this impossible thing better and with more grace, there has been a lot of chatter in my email about the chaos of summer. There is so much time and the schedule is wide open that it teeters toward unraveling into a huge sticky mess.
I’ve been thinking about this as my daughter finished her first year of Kindergarten early in July and our family had one week before we started our flurry of summer travels around Europe. Living abroad in Germany, we are eager to seize every blissful moment. There is so much to see and so little time. It is another kind of chaos we have created for ourselves.
Chaos can overwhelm. It could consume but one of my directees recently shared something she’d read with me. She didn’t cite it in our conversation but it’s stuck with me. She talked about how the rhythm in music finds its real power in the music. In the lull between the noise, we are able to hear the beauty in our ears. Without that break, we would miss it.
Maybe your summer isn't full of chaos or even small children but you find yourself overwhelmed by the world’s news. There is so much that is happening and so much to lament that it can feel like nothing matters. Nothing any one of us can do could ever change the mess that has been made.
We could choose to let the chaos consume us. Or we could practice a bit of musical innovation and pause to find ourselves in this moment and find ourselves moving into God’s rhythm.
Our shared practice this month is not to understand how God’s rhythm moves. That is far too much for one month but instead to find it in ourselves to pause long enough to notice God’s mystery between all the big and wonderful summer things in our lives.
Pause for a moment of quiet wonder to listen to your children giggle. Listen for God laughing too.
Pause before the crescendo of that next meeting or outing to the pool or the sheer chaos of bedtime begins and compose yourself. What music is God creating in you? How are you embodying that rhythm?
Pause to plant your feet firmly on the floor and remember that this, too, is holy ground. It does not matter where you are standing. It’s holy.
Pause after reading that headline that brings you to despair and consider one thing that you can do today to bring more love, peace and justice into this world.
Pause long enough to see what God might see in this moment.
Pause in that moment when your body deflates with a sigh after all that has happened in this day and give thanks. Linger in the wonder of gratitude a wee bit longer than your breath might allow.
Pause for a beat to listen to the music all around you and there is music all around you as the composer John Cage reminded us that everything is music.
Each one is a teeny tiny pause. It might not feel long enough but hopefully these tiny little moments add up to a new rhythm. As you are inspired to do so, please share in the comments below your experience of these tiny pauses.
As you enter into this August practice, here are some questions for reflection and prayer.
What rhythms are already established in your life?
Where do you hear the music God is making around you?
What are you finding in all of these pauses?
I don’t know much about music but I loved how Padraig O Tuama unpacked the rhythm of Hanif Abdurraqib’s poem on Poetry Unbound. I never would have heard all of this in the poem and want to listen to it again and again now that I’ve heard this.
My favorite podcast OnBeing just released a conversation with James Bridle on how art and technology come together. It feels relevant to understanding God’s rhythm but I’m still sorting out my thoughts.
These tiny pauses might make you crave more time for delight and wonder. Head over to Dandelion Marketplace to create your own space for renewal with these new retreat resources I am offering. Look for more opportunities in the very near future.
If you are interested in spiritual direction and are interested in a first conversation with me, please reach out or go ahead and book an appointment here. I am currently welcoming new directees and would be delighted to explore the holy threads of this life with you.
Thank you. passing on to Maria ... getting her two ready for first and third grades on August 15.