The Bench, August 3 Daily Reflection

The bench half hidden

Tucked away in the back of this beautiful garden, hidden by ivy and overhanging branches, sits this worn down bench just waiting for someone to sit upon it, a shaded place to relax in the heat of the midday sun, a place to escape, rest and catch our breath. Often it goes unseen, unnoticed, yet it has been there for years unmoved and untouched.

In the recesses of our minds tucked away in the back corners of our memories are places similar to the worn down yet inviting bench. Memories that have been hidden for years not because of emotional pain or scars but because we think so much of the future and live so quickly in the present that we have no time to pause long enough to find that memory and relax in the shade of its comfort. Oh, but how we would love to have a seat. Yet, in our normal pace of life we never realize we have a desire to sit down and rest our minds. We run physically and mentally on overload 24 hours a day.

Our constant motion has not always been a part of who we are or who we once were. In fact, as children and teenagers we knew how to relax, pause and rest. Our children run from this practice to that recital, to school and group activities but they also sit down in a big comfy chair and read a good book. Our children know how to sit and daydream, how to relax and play games, pretend and otherwise. We did it all once upon a time. We honed those skills and were very good once at relaxing.

Now that we are adults and live in fast forward we need to pause, be still and reflect. Reach into our memories and find those times in childhood when we sat upon that bench. Recall the freedom from business and inhale that slower life. Today take a few minutes away from it all and look back into the far reaches of your memory, find that bench in the shade and rest upon it. Remember the feelings of childhood and let the memories flood back to you. Find the path that can lead you back to that overgrown memory so you can access it daily, for we all need that quiet,  worn out memory to give us shade from the glaring light of our everyday.

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