Mother’s Day Wisdom from Melody Beattie

I have been reading Melody Beattie’s “Journey to the Heart“ this year as we travel and there are SO MANY good tidbits in this book. If you haven’t heard about this book, or seen it before I would definitely recommend it. Each day there is a (usually) small snippet to read as kind of a daily wisdom. Truthfully somedays I forget to read for a day (or 5) and then I get to read a few days at a time which I actually like sometimes. Today for Mother’s Day I got the chance to catch up on my readings and one of the days in particular stuck with me. This one is dated for May 9th. It reads:

“Stay present for each step of your journey. We don’t go from one place to another in a gigantic leap. We get there in increments, by going through each feeling, each belief, each experience one step at a time. 
Sometimes when we pray for miracles, what we’re really praying for is help in skipping steps, for shortcuts. The simple act of acceptance, of returning to each step of our path, can often bring us the miracle we need. Then we see the truth. The real miracle is one always available to each of us: it’s the miracle of acceptance. We can go where we want to go, one step at a time.

Stay present for each step of your
journey. Trust each stage. Many things
are possible for you if you accept that
the fastest way is one step at a time.”

Staying present is something I have been consciously working on for at least a few years now. I have a tendency to get stuck in my head sometimes. It can be about worries I have for what might happen. Or something already happened, but not as I would have envisioned or liked. I have been finding myself doing exactly as Melody’s wisdom says. Wishing for a way to skip ahead to future plans that seem more exciting. But what that is doing is causing me to miss out on the great moments that are happening everyday! 

Every so often I need a reminder to stop thinking about what I have planned in the future. Look around me and appreciate something about the day I am presently living. Mother’s day weekend was a great time to practice. The holiday weekend felt so different this year. It was my first Mother’s Day weekend celebrating as a mother myself.  While we didn’t do anything super fancy, it didn’t matter.We spent the weekend with friends doing outdoor activities and enjoying each others company. And for the first time in quite a while I stopped wishing I could just fast forward to my next exciting plan. 

Melody is SO right in the end when she says that the fastest way is one step at a time. When you are living presently you are enjoying each moment more. Enjoying each moment makes time seem faster. Rather than spending time waiting we need to be enjoying the journey each day. The other thing that comes up for me when thinking on this is my connection to the people and world around me. Without the important family and friends in my life, the journey wouldn’t be worth it. And sometimes I don’t think that I share my love and appreciation enough. This year, that is something else I would like to work on. 

So, happy Mother’s Day Y’all! And Happy Mother’s Day, Ma! (Who I’m sure hasn’t heard it enough in my lifetime.) I love you and appreciate all you’ve gone through with me in life. I wouldn’t be who I am today, or be here at all without you.  I’m sorry we weren’t around to celebrate with you this weekend! 

xoxo, Briana