Resetting Out Rhythm - A Walk in the Woods

I didn't intend to write a series on finding balance, but this does appear to be the 3rd one in a row.  I don't know if that's a sign that I need this or that you do, but here we are.

On Wednesday, I had an odd little gap of time in my schedule.  I took a class at the Y that ended at 8.  I was subbing that day, but they didn't need me until 9:30.  The night before, I remembered that there is an arboretum between those locations and that it has been a while since I have photographed anything.  

Plan made.

North Carolina being what it is, I woke up to 35 degree weather, but I had already made my plan, so I put Papa's sweater and my camera in the car.  

When I got to the JC Raulston Arboretum, I found more than beautiful blooms to photograph.  I found that I was in a different rhythm.  I don't know if it is a result of the fall, but human schedules are out of step with creation.  

The pace of nature is different than the schedule we create for ourselves. Birds work hard to build their nests, but they don't have a time tabled to-do list. Plants don't feel the need to grow an inch by the end of the day. No matter how hard we try, we cannot contain grass to the places we want it to grow.  It'll pop up through a crack in the sidewalk if it wants to.  Our need to contain, schedule, and organize is unnatural.  

I'm not saying we shouldn't do those things.  We need to be productive and responsible, and some of you are responsible for keeping small people alive. But I am suggesting that, if we are to maintain our sanity, we have to take time to reset.  I'm not talking about self-care. That's just become an excuse for shirking our responsibilities without feeling guilty about it. I'm talking about reconnecting with natural rhythms in creation.  I'm talk about rest.

Most of the world's religions have an ethic of rest, even though we are bad at practicing it.  My friend, Dana Trent, does a fantastic job of describing this in her book For Sabbath's Sake.   Like everything Dana writes, says, or does, it is simultaneously profound, entertaining, and highly relatable. She opens with a story of breaking off a Q-tip in her ear and deciding to wait to address it until after she had taught her class (absolutely what I would do too) and spends a chapter describing her experience at a retreat center in which she found she was "bad at resting."  Ten out of ten recommend this book.

There is a reason that Sabbath had to be a commandment. We don't do it.  Even though it is good for us.  Even though we would be glad if we did.  Even though it is the way were originally designed as image bearers.  We forget that we have to intentionally step out of ourselves to reconnect with things that are bigger than us.  (Even if you are not a person of faith, you must recognize the need for this connection and feel the pull toward something outside of your own schedule.)

Spring provides an important reminder.  Plants that have lain dormant all winter were not dead; they were resting and are now experiencing renewal.  Bears that have hibernated all winter are ready to forage again. Easter reminds us that death does not have the final say.  Birds that have been quiet for months are out there singing again.  Perhaps this is even why we engage in spring cleaning; it's just a natural time for a reset.

Teachers, I know spring is busy.  I know you are in the sprint toward the end of the year.  I know that exams will be due to your administrators soon, and you I'm not suggesting that you go on a retreat.  I'm suggesting that you take half an hour to take a walk in the woods.  I'm well aware of how blessed I am to have an Arboretum right in the heart of my city and that not everyone has that. But you can find something - a tree, a squirrel, a neighborhood dog to pet - lie down on the ground and look at clouds - something.  

Take a few minutes to reset your rhythm.  You'll be glad you did.