As the summer winds down, I’m reminded more and more of the simplicity of life that balances me and keeps me from the depressing cycle of my “to-do” list and the difficult schedule of school. In the whirl of life’s chores, the flurry and fun of having good friends for dinner, of the past week’s battle to get Sappho on the road to recovery, and of the pain of watching my man’s heart hurt and not knowing what to do but hold his hand, these words have provided a little healing balm:

“True simplicity consists not in the use of particular forms, but in foregoing over-indulgence, in maintaining humility of spirit, and in keeping the material surroundings of our lives directly serviceable to necessary ends, even though these surroundings may be properly characterized by grace, symmetry, and beauty.”
~Book of Discipline of the Religious Society of Friends, Adopted by the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, 1927

I’ve been feeling somewhat ill-equipped to handle what life has sent my way lately and have felt a little at a loss these past few months as to what to do with an increasing (self-imposed) to-do list and a maelstrom of pent up emotions. Feelings of inadequacy, hopelessness and the uneven balance of having my attention diverted too many places. Again, as the summer drifts to an end, and I am reminded of the simple beauty of life and that it’s really (really!) okay to stop and just relax, the healing that I’ve been working towards finally seems close to being within my grasp. And with it comes the renewed promise I make to just let myself breathe and take each day with grace and patience.

A new challenge I’ve given myself…