Just Breathe!

I took this picture back in the Fall, when we were hiking through the nearby woods. The trip was just a nice pleasure outing. A time  for me and my husband to enjoy the peace and solitude of the woods.

Today in conversation with a friend I was reminded of another time that I visited the woods. A time where I was feeling stressed and I needed to go to the woods so that I could breathe. I was telling my friend how they needed to take some time to breathe as well.  They are at a crossroads in their life, a big decision needs made and they are feeling consumed by the pressure. They need some time to just breathe.

It was a couple years ago when I had driven to the woods with a heavy heart.  Life had dealt us a huge blow and I was overwhelmed. I remember finding a log to sit on in the middle of the woods. I sat my weary body down and I soaked in the silence while staring at nature’s beauty around me.  I sat for awhile , I walked for awhile , and my soul breathed. While doing these things my spirit became calm, as peace wrapped around me. My circumstances hadn’t changed, but I had. I had taken the time to slow down, to concentrate on the moment and to just breathe.

I believe we all have been there before. Times where decisions and our present circumstances weigh us down. Times where we  wish we could be a child again, coloring under our blanket fort and eating chocolate chip cookies.

What do you do when you have a big decision weighing on your heart? What do you do when life deals you a severe blow and you don’t know where to turn?

We can become so consumed with feeling we need an answer that I feel we often neglect doing a very important thing.  Taking a step back and giving ourselves time to breathe! It is sometimes in the silence when our heart speaks to us and tells us what we need to know.  It is sometimes in the silence when the fog in our mind lifts and things become more clear.

Sometimes its not about wrestling with all the questions in your head for the thousandth time. Its not about figuring out how to unscramble the messed up alphabet in your head. Sometimes its only about one very important thing, and that one thing is taking  time out to take care of you. Allowing yourself time to just breathe!