Quiet Time

I woke up early for a Sunday, at 7 a.m. I took an uphill bike ride and got an exercise high. I live down a sloping street and I have been wondering since the move whether or not I could make it up the streets that intersect by my house. One has a long slope and the other has a steeper shorter slope. I ended up being able to do both. A little huffy and puffy, but I did it and it felt really good. A great way to start the day. I forgot to latch the gate when I parked my bike in the back yard and the dog let himself out for a little exploring. So I followed and watched him as he trotted joyfully through the woods that back up to the end of our street. It was a pretty morning and I walked along the border of the woods, making sure I knew where he was, and then he joined me as I sat on a bench overlooking the hillside. I had seen that bench before but since it was along a back parking lot to another cluster of condos, I thought it was a private bench. But it had a little welcome sign by it so I felt invited.

After taking Charley home, I set myself up on the patio. Mornings are quiet here, and I felt like I was the only one up. I read my meditations, and sat quietly and absorbed the meaning of it all. It was awesome. I read from two books that compliment each other, and then my Emmett Fox daily reading. The first two were about harmony. And the "inner knowledge that makes the problems of life plain" and obedience, honesty, loyalty and love and basically the peace that comes from being in harmony. I felt at peace. I felt the storm blow over and the calm return. The third reading emphasized our thoughts and how important our thinking is, how our thoughts can corrupt us even before we take the action. When I do these readings, and turn my thoughts to higher principles, I am training my thinking. If I am concentrating on solutions to problems rather than the problems themselves, I am training my thinking, and my actions will get better. I believe that. And whatever effort I make in that area, especially early in my day, is rewarded generously the rest of the day. I know this through experience, years and years of it. Doing it, and reaping the benefits, and not doing, and not getting the benefits.

I have a journal I bought almost two years ago for writing only positive thoughts and recording the good things about my life. I have other journals, but this particular one is special. It reveals the brighter side of life. It also has my notes on Buddhist meditation in it from a little mini study I did at the bookstore that summer. I love it. After my meditation I took it out and read the last entry, it was last December 29th, four months exactly prior to today. Then I updated it. So much has happened. I found myself feeling so optimistic and in awe of the great things that are possible in life. And how we never really know where we are going to end up. In December I was celebrating what a wonderful holiday we had enjoyed, and summing up the good things about the year. At that time, if you would have told me that four months later I would be living where I am now I would not have believed it possible. In fact, at that point I did not have the desire to move at all. And adding my grandson to the household - I would have probably thought that would have been really really hard. But here I am, having so much improvement in our lives in the past four months. It was amazing beyond words to think of it all.

It really hit me then how astounding life really is. And faith, and doing the next right thing, and putting together wondrous things just by doing each task and putting the effort in not knowing the outcome, just believing we will be taken care of if we do what our hearts and souls tell us is the right thing to do. Taking those leaps of faith and not looking down, and not looking back. The little upward weight fluctuation that I had been hung up on seemed like nothing at all. If allowing God to work in my life in the area of finding a home, and taking care of my grandson could produce such marvelous results, so quickly, what couldn't be accomplished in the area of taking care of my body? I let go of the worries about weight and fat and food in my quiet time. It was such a relief.

I also have a meditation book called Forgiving and Moving On. Just the title says it all. I forgave myself and moved on. I went and bought some plants and did some gardening. Then some more reading, in the gardening book. We also rescued a baby bird, making a new nest and placing it near the other nest, which we could not reach. The mother even moved the other babies into the nest we built for the baby who fell. I made a nice little Sunday dinner for us, with abstinent food for me. After dinner came a hike with the kids in the most fabulous place. We went to the meditation rock as I call it. Overlooking the river. We took pictures and enjoyed.

All day long my eating has been in order. I have been obedient to my plan. And I have been drinking water non-stop. I know if I follow a few simple rules of eating, and keep up the exercise, my body will take on it's natural shape, the shape God intended it to have. The distortion from overeating will melt away, naturally.

So, a little quiet time this morning went a really long way. I am now contemplating getting up earlier in the morning on weekdays to make time for it. It is evening now and I am enjoying the patio again, reading and blogging. But the mosquitoes have arrived and I have to go in!!

PS - I am going to use the tree photo for my "during" picture. Or my "before" picture, starting today.