Please, Don't Lose the Art of Stopping
an invitation to consider
It’s a long weekend here in Saskatchewan. The kettle is boiling for my morning cup of tea. I will spend the morning writing and preparing for some important upcoming events. I also wanted to list other things I wanted to do today, so I grabbed a half-full journal from the shelf and tore out a piece of paper to write today’s to-do list. Of course, I had to glance at what my earlier self had written in the now-penned pages before pulling a piece of paper. And there it was in messy penmanship:
“We’ve lost the art of stopping.”
I have to laugh at myself because here I was on the cusp of writing Monday’s to-do list, and now I’m pausing, stopping, if you will, my morning plans to linger on the question stirring in my heart: How, Lord, do I not lose the art of stopping?
It pairs nicely with two other questions I’m holding in my heart, one of which came from my friend Lang’s blog. Here they are:
How has your life become “new” since Easter?
What do you give your energy and agency away to? (Lang’s blog.)
BRB, I have to go and prepare my tea.
As I reflect on these three questions together, I’m feeling an invitation from the Lord to walk purposefully into this new season, especially because I've recently concluded a chapter of my mental health care that included medication support. That medication affected my energy levels in significant ways, sometimes holding me back from fully living my life.
I’ve become “new” since Easter, as I’m no longer taking a medication. And listen, if this does not go as we hope, I will reintroduce what I need. But for now, this is a season of being made new. I'm feeling feelings I haven’t felt in a long time. I’m being restored through fresh air, journaling, and dreaming of what could be.
As I sit here and type, it dawns on me that there are all kinds of stopping. It can be anything from a sabbath rest to a letting go of something that once sustained us. Not stopping can have many consequences, such as:
We fail to see people, really see people.
We fail to examine our lives and practices to ensure they align with who we want to be. We live an unexamined life, which can have devastating effects.
We may miss the grace and invitation of God in the current season.
We may miss engaging in God’s work in the world around us.
So perhaps that’s where the next question fits: What do you give your agency and energy to? I don’t have an answer, so I’ll live with the question until I do. But I leave this encouragement with you, friends: Please don’t lose the art of stopping.
With love,
Carmen
I could hear how urgently important it is to maintain this posture in your voice, Carmen. What a beautiful invitation! I'm reminded of a musician friend of mine from seminary, who did his thesis on the empty spaces between notes. Without the gaps between sounds, music is nothing more than noise (and probably annoying at that). Much the same holds true for us. A life without stops, is noisy, loud (in a not good way), and chaotic. While one laced with pauses, is melodious, harmonious, and beautiful. Thank you for that reminder ... and the shoutout too! :)