Serenity, do you have it?

Serenity:

the state or quality of being serene, calm, or tranquil; sereneness.

Two posts in one morning…wow! 😀 So this morning I wanted to touch on Serenity. The reason for this is because of my trip with my family for Thanksgiving, during that trip, I had a moment where I felt truly serene and calm. There was a wave of tranquil peace that just washed over me. You see, on Thursday (Thanksgiving) my family and I took off to Glenwood Springs, Colorado. We had arrangements to stay two nights, but we had to come back a day early.

However, we had an amazing time. We drove into Aspen, Colorado for dinner, but first we drove into town and walked around. The shops were all closed and there were very few people out and about. As we were walking I noticed a shop window and I stopped and took a picture…here is what it looked like…

I remember thinking…”So true.” It was like at that moment, that I felt like someone was trying to tell me something, reminding me what I was doing and why. By this point though, we decided to head over to where we were going to eat that night and while we were there, I had this moment of peace just wash over me. We had found a place to eat at, called the Willow Creek Bistro and it was located at the Ritz Carleton Hotel in Aspen. We had driven up the mountain for our reservation and managed to get there a little bit early. So we hung out, outside on their porch area. They had fire pits that were flickering nicely in the evening air. As we sat there, huddled around one of the fire pits, I noticed how calm it was. There was no sound, really, it was just peaceful.

 

 

Then I looked up into the sky and this is what I saw…

 

The beautiful moon, hanging perfectly over the mountain top. It was at that moment, that I just took it all in. Everything was perfect in that moment. My husband, my son, my daughter and I were having Thanksgiving together. I briefly recalled last year, how that wasn’t the case, how we had to spend it apart. I recalled we had taken off last year for Thanksgiving, but because of the situation that my family and I were in, we were not able to do it all as a family. The piece that was missing at that time, was my daughter. That year wasn’t the same, it wasn’t perfect, our minds were clouded by what we were missing, what we were going through, it was a Thanksgiving that felt like any other day to us.

But this year…this year made up for all of that. This year we were a family, whole and perfect. At this moment in time, it didn’t matter that we weren’t together the year before; my daughter’s disabilities, didn’t matter; the fact that my husband works so many hours, didn’t matter; the current events in our lives, didn’t matter; all that mattered was that we were there, in that time, in that place together as one whole family unit and making memories that we know would last a life time. Everything was still, everything was at peace for me at that moment in time. What I was experiencing at that point was true serenity.

I know that I had God to thank for this, for that moment. He made everything that we looked at, the natural beauty of the sky in just the right shade of color, the moon, hanging just in the right way and in just the right position. The way the land outlined the sky and moved in one perfect motion against the night sky. The feeling that swept over me and that moment in time with my family, for all of that, I only had God to thank.

The rest of the night went perfectly, we had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, not a care crossed our minds. We didn’t think about what was coming or what had happened, we just sat there, enjoyed our meal and enjoyed each other.

 

 

After dinner, we made our way back to Glenwood Springs and relaxed in our hotel. We were supposed to go swimming the next day, but we ended up coming home. Despite all that, though, it was a wonderful two days. In fact my husband and I were already talking about next year, I guess taking off for Thanksgiving will now become our own Family Tradition. However next year we decided to go out of state, to do something different, to go somewhere different. So that is our plan, we aren’t sure where or how, but we know that God will make it happen. He allowed this trip to happen and He allowed us to experience that night together, then I know He will see fit to make next year come about as well.

Serenity is an amazing feeling, it’s calming and peaceful feeling tends to just sweep over you like a large engulfing wave. Once it hits, there is no escaping it, it just swallows you up and holds on tight. When it hits, nothing else in the world matters, no amount of stress or adventures (good or bad), it just hits you like a large shock wave or tidal wave. You find that every part of yourself just sort of melts in its wake, your whole body relaxes, your muscles loosen up and your mind just empties from thought. Happiness takes it’s place, or maybe it just comes in and joins it, but soon you find yourself feeling overwhelming happiness and joy. You can feel your heart beat slow and become more steady and all you want to do is stay in that moment forever.

Serenity is a feeling we get when we find that true peace, it can last for a moment in time or it can last for long periods of time. But it’s that thing that happens that seems to make time itself, stop and stand still.

We all need to find that peace, that calming, that tranquil moment in our lives…that Serenity. I know it’s possible to get to that level of peace all the time, but we are usually always to busy to stop and let it happen, to take in the amazing moments around us. To many times we let it slip by us without so much as a thought. Sometimes we don’t think we are worthy of that feeling and so we don’t allow ourselves to feel it, or maybe we don’t think we are worthy of it all the time, but we are. We deserve to be happy, we deserve to feel that amazing feeling where worry doesn’t exist, where fear can’t take hold, where anger runs in the other direction and where only true happiness can live.

If you haven’t already, I encourage you to find a way to experience this feeling of serenity. Just let it sweep over you and then find a way to keep it. Don’t let it slip by you for a later date, let it take hold now. Don’t ignore it, because of fear, pursue it with passion. You are worth it, you deserve it, happiness is for everyone, there is no limit and no prerequisite to obtain it, you just have to want it.

Brightest Blessings!