Stepping Out of the Chaos

Earlier this week my youngest son was home all day with a stomach bug.  He’s only one year old, so of course he is unable to communicate when something hurts or any needs he might have.  It’s a tiring and frustrating task as a parent to know that your child is sick and needs something and to have a hard time understanding exactly what they want.  It’s a constant guessing game that can be hard to win.  There was a stretch of time in the morning where he was crying inconsolably and I tried laying him in his crib for a while to see if he might just wear himself out and fall asleep.  I thought I would use that time to try and do a few things that I needed to get done for work that day.  I tried.  I failed.  It was impossible to concentrate on any productive thinking with the crying in the background.

It got me thinking about the noise in the world lately.  There is hurt and pain and suffering and chaos that have reached a fevered pitch.  I’ve found at times that it is paralyzing.  It’s hard to show up for menial tasks some days when the noise all around is making it impossible to concentrate.  Much of the suffering is valid and should not be ignored, but it also feels like there is no clear or meaningful way to address it.

What my son needed the most, and was so clear to me and beyond his understanding, was some rest.  What our world needs most right now is some rest.  I don’t know how to make the whole world rest, but I believe that any change we want to see must start within ourselves.  We live in a culture that caters to the chaos, and deeply undervalues rest, silence, and renewal.  

Maybe today, when everything around us seems paralyzing and hard, we can each find a moment for rest, for breathing, and for renewal.