creating space for peace

Peace was my word for the year.  Honestly, it's not going so well, financial or otherwise.  Do not get me wrong, I have much to be thankful for.  Tim has continued to find small jobs for work, and we are continuing to be able to feed our family and live in our house.

I have had a few moments of peace here and there, scattered among my days.  This morning, I decided to seize a quiet morning at home, take my coffee and book outside and watch the girls pick daisies.  Then Lila kicked my coffee over while she was nursing and Ava knocked the vases off the deck and broke one of them.  I think I read half a page.  Isn't that reality?

Peace came to me while getting my first spa massage, a birthday gift from two very generous and thoughtful sisters of mine!  I thought, I must make more time, more space for this type of quiet and relaxation in my life.

I am wondering how to find peace in my life, in the midst of these crazy days with little ones so demanding.  I think it is a personal thing, to discover what feeds your soul, brings you joy and calm despite everything else.

Here are my ideas for steps to creating space for peace.

1. When do you feel calm?  What are you doing or not doing?
For me, I feel calm when I'm writing or reading.  I feel calm when I have a tea or coffee in hand and everything is quiet, I have space to think.  Classical music also helps me to feel calm.

2. Where do you feel peace?  What locations bring calm to your life?
I feel peaceful at the lake, when we are visiting my parent's cottage.  It was my vacation spot for all of my growing up years, and we have the privilege of using the space now for our family.
I feel peaceful outside, in nature, particularly going for walks in the woods.
Bookstores, I love being around books, completely surrounded by them, taking time to flip through pages and look for interesting pages to read.

3. Once you know when you feel peaceful and where, you can create space for this in your life.  How?  Taking the bits of time that you have choosing to do an activity that you love, one that feeds your soul.
For me, this means taking the small bits of time that I have to do activities that feed my soul.  I choose to read and write for my sanity and do the housework later, when I feel less frustrated and out of sorts.  I will choose to take the girls to the woods for a walk instead of the playground.  

(Do I look more peaceful here?  This is in 2006, before kids were in the picture!)

None of this is easy.  I think living more intentionally with a positive mindset brings joy despite the hard work it may entail.  I would love to work on creating more space for peace in my life this summer.

I'd love to hear from you... what brings you peace?  How do you carve out the time to create space for peace in your life?