Intentions and Grace

nurture

Jan 30

The hand drawn calendar in my linen clad notebook is telling me January is almost over. One more day, is all. I think back one month to when we were tucked away in a mountain cabin, feeding logs to the fire, reading books, playing again the one game we’d played over and over all holiday break. Keeping still, listening. I think about the snow falling quietly as I wrote ideas that sparkled, wrote words that glowed, wrote things that seemed perfectly fitted to future’s frame.

Aspirations to some, they’re resolutions to others. Intentions, I say. Sure things to stitch into the daily that make it stand better than it did before. Here, adding a new habit, there, a new practice. Maybe a new rhythm. Continuing the tried-and-true, also. Believing they are meant to be, this new and that old, expecting, as we do when looking through our rosy glasses, that they’ll fall in sync without any stutter steps (they’d sparkled, after all).

Well now, how’s it going?

Maybe in recent weeks you’ve had crumpled mornings, stray afternoons. Maybe the grind has ground loud, drowning out any note of intention. Or, in one short month, maybe the unexpected has imposed, rewriting everything in thick, sloppy ink. Maybe this far beyond the sparkle and glow, your gumption’s just gone. Maybe all of the above; maybe some of it.

There’s one word for us now.

Grace.

Grace remembers all that sparkled and glowed when the snow was falling. She also knows that it’s far better to experience intentions than it is to demand them. She reminds us to listen, to notice their nuances, and see how theory has translated into practice. Then she lets them have a better fit. Tuck here, extend there. Tailor. Maybe take appointments on Tuesdays and Wednesdays only. How about sweeping the floors before dinner instead of after. Yes, still, to early morning yoga. Baby(er) steps here; holding pattern there.

Grace helps us breathe. She calibrates problems to their proper size. She’s what loops around and buckles us in through the stutter steps. Sure, your best intentions didn’t work this morning, but they might tomorrow. Go ahead and work your plan, adjust, then work your plan. Keep your focus.

Every day, loves, with intentions and grace.

notebook/book darts/pencil/game

If you’d like help in creating a soulful home, I’d love to work with you. Email me: carmella@carmellarayone.com

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