A Note on Rhythms

Our latest family photo :)

I love this time of year. I love the romance of it all: the Christmas cards with snowy scenery, the black and white movies with trees decorated with popcorn and tinsel, the magic of seeing my children’s eyes light up when we read Christmas books, and the slowing down of life in general during the winter weather. I also love the reflection that comes in the weeks leading up to the new year.

I’ve taken the past year to really slow down. I’ve said no to lots of things, created days where I don’t go anywhere, left the house a mess to enjoy a day playing with the kids out in nature, and in general, I’ve started to rebuild my inner rhythms. I’ve tried to quiet my soul. In that quiet space, layers of dust have started to come off. Things I used to do—old patterns of thought and habit—have been challenged.

I am used to living fast and hurried with a goal to accomplish. Funny thing is, when I looked back on goals I did accomplish, there wasn’t much celebration. Maybe just a “good job” and then onto the next thing. But the beauty of life is that you can choose to change when things aren’t working for you anymore. The life rhythm I’ve been leaning into this past year is simplicity. I try to measure most things by it. If a plan becomes too complicated, I eliminate it. If the errands aren’t done, I stop. I can try again tomorrow. If the children are fighting or I am having a bad day mothering, I stop. I breathe in and out and go back to the basics of what is truly needed in that moment. I ask myself a lot, “What do I really need to be happy today?” Most of the times the answer isn't more things, more activity—but less things, less activity and more heart moments (as I lovingly have coined them). Moments where my son whispers in my ear but he doesn’t say anything because he doesn’t understand the concept of whispering. Moments where my husband hugs me and my head fits perfectly on his shoulder. Moments where I connect with a friend in a conversation that is unhurried. Moments homeschooling my daughter where we snuggle and finish another chapter.

I’ve also spent a lot of this past year living in the present. When my thoughts drift too much to the past or too much to the future, I slowly steer them back to the present. I’ve savored the moments I’ve been present this year. Moments I will not ever get back but I’ve tried to be fully present so I can have the memory of them.

My life rhythm has been slow moving through the seasons. Children love routine and rhythms and my inner child has been beckoning me back to that concept this year. The great dichotomy of my past year is that in slowing down and learning to live to a new rhythm, I noticed so many more intricacies of my inner life and of the world around me. Slowing down allowed me this—the space to rediscover old habits I’ve neglected as well as create new ones that bring me life.

Here’s a few things I’ve incorporated this year to help with rhythm in my daily life:

Connecting with nature daily. Letting myself see something beautiful daily and the concept that things in nature are wild and imperfect yet they exist so harmoniously together.

Reading. It slows you down. It challenges you.

Following a family rhythm. I love all the resources that Waldorf teaching and parenting methods offer.

Following seasonal cues: We love to delve into seasonal activities. We were created to be close to the cycles of nature. I love adding in activities that remind me of the season I am in. It helps to create cyclical rhythm and establishes markers in our year that we can look forward to each year.

Home as a sanctuary. Light those candles, put on classical music, create an environment in your home.