Excess baggage.,,

http://melissafaithbodin.wordpress.com/2013/06/07/excess-baggage/

http://melissafaithbodin.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/beautiful-people/#more-584

Lean into it. . .

http://melissafaithbodin.wordpress.com/2013/03/29/lean-into-it-2/

Letting go of sadness. . .

http://melissafaithbodin.wordpress.com/2013/03/02/letting-go-of-sadness/

Check out my latest blog post! Thanks for stopping by!

Perspective changes everything. . .

My blog has moved!

http://melissafaithbodin.wordpress.com/2013/02/24/perspective-changes-everything/

Are you too busy?

I read the following words this morning. They are taken from the book Sabbath by Wayne Muller. I am only a few pages into the book and I am completely and totally in love with it.

“I am so busy.

We say this to one another with no small degree of price, as if our exhaustion were a trophy, our ability to withstand stress a mark of real character. the busier we are, the more important we seem to ourselves and, we imagine, to others.

To be unavailable to our friends and family, to be unable to find time for the sunset (or even to know that the sun has set at all), to whiz through our obligations without time for a single, mindful breath, this has become the model of a successful life.

Our lack of rest and reflection is not just a personal affliction.

It colors the way we build and sustain community.”

Is this you?

I am ashamed to admit that, at one time (not all that long ago I might add) , this was me. (Side note: If you have children, it’s hard to escape BUSY. I’ve been there, done that, and am still doing that. I get it.)

I once thought the busier I was, the better. It kept me from being in my own head (which can be a scary place) and made me feel like I was on the road to somewhere. Where? I have NO idea.

Then, when tragedy struck last August,  I was forced to stop and look at my life. When I stopped — when I came to the realization that life is SO much more than being busy–a funny thing happened. Once I stopped running and began to appreciate the silence and tranquility that comes with being available to myself and to others--my life began to change. Being intentional about life–by eliminating the distraction of being busy–has allowed me to stop and take some very mindful breaths.

Now? I pull over to take pictures of the sunrise, I drop what I’m doing to chat with my nephew, I try to carve out time in my day for meaningful conversations with people that I love, and I have begun to figure out how to fit into my life the things that bring joy and meaning to my soul.

Trust me, it’s not been easy. I work on it every single day. And, quite frankly, there are days that I’d rather just be too busy to think. It’s so much easier to numb out and putter along in life than it is to deal with it some days.  Besides, there’s always something to be done, right?  ALWAYS!  But, I challenge you to stop and ask yourself,  how important are those things?

Stop and ask yourself that the next time you are too busy to breath.  

All of this and I’m only on page two. . .

Did I mention that I am in love with this book?

Grief reveals you. . .

The deeper the pain creeps into my broken soul,  
the more my soul is freed. . .

I've heard it said, time and time again, that grief reveals you. . .

The first time I heard this after the crash, I shuddered, literally.

What would be revealed of me? 

Not really having the mental capacity at the time to worry about it, I decided I'd deal with whatever was revealed of me at the time of revelation, no matter how deep and dark it was.

Since then, I have secretly wondered.

And waited. . .

Finally--I listened. 

I listened to the quiet revelations of my aching soul.

And I discovered,

that the deeper the pain crept into my broken soul, the more my soul was freed. . . 

to love more deeply and with abandoned,

to appreciate silence,

to crave authenticity,

to celebrate every gift,

to let joy in,

to hope,

and to experience compassion,

like never before.

Despite my brokenness, despite my heavy heart--grief has revealed my soul.

Ironic, isn't it?

"That suffering nourishes grace, and pain and joy are arteries of the same heart--

and mourning and dancing are but movements in His unfinished symphony of beauty." 

~Ann Voskamp, One Thousand Gifts