Day 329: Quiet times...

I've always enjoyed beach, really early in the morning right around sunrise.  Just you, all alone and only the sound of the rhythmic crashing of the waves on the shore and every once in a while the barking of sea lions or the screeching of seagulls over head.  Death Valley is another one of my favorite places for quiet time.  Out there the only sound you hear is the wind blowing through the sage brush and an occasional howl from a coyote.  Our friends have this amazing rustic cabin up in Sugarloaf above Boulder.  It's nestle along a gentle flowing creek and the only sounds you hear are the water cascading over the rocks and the wind blowing through the evergreens.  It's so peaceful and serene. 

For most of us it's hard to find those quiet times and with the holidays fast approaching you're more likely to find Jimmy Hoffa and Big Foot sharing a pizza with Elvis than having 10 minutes all to yourself.  Most of us live in suburbia and don't have the advantages of the wilderness right outside our back doors to look for solitude.  I know you moms out there with your darling little rug rats find it very difficult to have quiet times except when everyone has gone down for a nap.  But if we do try to find that elusive quiet time we typically escape to our basements or bedrooms because life requires us to be close at hand.  We might turn on one of those radios with the nature sounds, perhaps light a candle or burn some incense and hopefully for the next 30 minutes to an hour we can be alone in our thoughts and dreams.  For just a brief moment the outside world will be put on hold and all the drama that consumes our lives will fade away. 

So with everyone running around frantically trying to find that perfect Christmas gift for someone, I hope one of your gifts will be to take some time for you.  It's not a selfish thing but any stretch of the imagination and don't be guilted into thinking you don't deserve it because you do.  Take some time just for you.  Trust me life will go on.  Your spouse and kids WILL survive on their own for an hour.  The sun will rise and set.  You'll feel better, more grounded and in control of a life you sometimes feel is not yours to command.  As you take care of life and your loved ones, remember to take care of you.