Pause

This is a chance to go in and pause. A chance to breathe and pause. A chance to center and pause. Welcome to a Hit of Hope. I work at a Benedictine university, and when I go to prayer with the nuns, I know we will be reciting one of the Psalms, those ancient songs full of praise and lament, joy and suffering. The most human of cries to the Greater Than. Inhale. Exhale. Every single time I go, I am struck by the rhythm and the pause. When the nuns say the Psalms, there is no haste, no hurry.

Transcript

This is a chance to go in and pause.

A chance to breathe and pause.

A chance to center because of the pause.

Welcome to a hit of hope.

I work at a Benedictine University and when I go to prayer with the nuns I know we will be reciting one of the Psalms.

Those ancient songs full of praise and lament,

Joy and suffering.

The most human of cries to the greater than.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Every time I go I am struck by the rhythm and the pause.

When the nuns say the Psalms there is no haste,

No hurry.

The rhythm is slow,

Steady.

At first I resist.

Let's get this done I think.

I have things to do,

Places to go,

Coffee to drink.

Inhale.

Exhale.

In the midst of this slow and ancient rhythm there is also a recurring pause.

A habitual space of silence like a flower.

Slowly,

Gently blossoming open.

Again my mind struggles.

How long will this last?

What am I supposed to do?

I open my eyes and look around at the heads bowed,

The hands folded.

I close my eyes and let the rhythm and the pause lull me into quiet.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Now some of the nuns might be thinking about laundry or their upcoming stay at the hermitage or about how annoying Sister So-and-so is.

For they are,

After all,

Human.

But what a daily practice to give voice to the human condition,

Its highs and lows,

Its triumphs and struggles.

To do so with a community and make it a part of the fabric of your day.

Inhale.

Exhale.

What a practice to make pausing a part of your speech.

Imagine how our interactions with others might go if we simply paused,

Grounded,

And centered before we spoke.

Imagine how our spirits might thank us if we let busyness pause while we breathed and held space like a flower opening to the sun.

Imagine how we might find richness and joy in the little things if we learned how to pause,

To dwell,

To linger.

As we live,

May we consider finding a slow and steady rhythm.

As we live,

May we seek out like-minded souls and communities that ground us.

As we live,

May we give ourselves a pause,

A break,

A much-needed rest.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Pause.

Breathe.

Dwell.

Linger.

Hold space and be like a flower opening to the sun.

Live Light.

Reviews

Beautiful metaphor or the flower furling open to the sun 💕🙏🏻

This reminds me of my teaching days in the Catholic school I taught in. We would do a morning prayer followed by any intentions the children would want to pray for. At the beginning of the year I think I really tested their patience. After a student offered up an intention, I would pause before calling on the next student. They just wanted to rattle off their intentions but I would tell them to pause and really pray for whatever the intention was. It really pissed off the boys. After a week or so, they would get used to it. Another practice I taught them was that whenever we heard a siren, they were to stop working, put their pencil down and say a prayer for whoever the siren was for. When they were done, they could resume working. I was so proud of them for thinking about others and not only themselves. I always had very respectful classes (with a few bumps in the road). They would pray for me in their intentions after I told them I had Lupus and explain exactly what it was. I was so fortunate to get that respect from them. About 95% of my students would hug me at the end of the day and said they would pray for me when they went to bed.❤️ I had girls and boys who would be in 8th grade who made a point to hug me before they left for home. I am a very lucky and loved person and will remember them the rest of my life.❣️❣️

Soothing voice. Calming narrative and tempo. Perfect for a short break (maybe laying down!). Thank you!

Oh Betsy, you are my pause.. I'm always pleased to see another of your meditations I haven't done. Big thx..

Wonderful. Thank you so much✨🙏✨

Such a perfect reminder for us all. The spaces are important, that's where you build community. Thank you! ✌💗🧘‍♂️🤘

Wise words once again from Castle Dangers greatest guru. Your words have been an inspiration and a comfort to me the past few years. You never disappoint. Thank you so much Betsy!

Thank you for this pause, dear Betsy 🙏❤
Your hits of hope always ground me, I love them!

Thank you Betsy! Grateful for your teachings. ✌🏼 💕

. . . .😊. . . . I paused today.....to hand feed my duck 2 foot .....to watch a family of quail walking across the drive .....and to turn on I T before rushing into a long list of to do s ..... Thanks Betsy.....for teaching me to "rest" "breathe" and widen my horizons. 💙... 🙏

Sadguru has a nice post on enhancing focus and Weston has a lonely new piece called "a quiet place" ...... seems the world is searching for more peace. x

What a more peaceful world this could be. 😌 Much love Betsy 🙏❤️