HARMONY = LEARNING HOW TO PAUSE

"The
notes I handle no better than many pianists. But the pauses between the notes
— ah, that is where the art resides."

~Arthur Schnabel

A
Chopin piano nocturne played by a novice musician and by a virtuoso will not sound
the same. That's because one of the two pianists has had a lifetime to practice
the music as well as learn when to pause in order to color the notes with passion.

So
it is with the concerto of our lives. Individual notes must be learned and played
and practiced before we achieve harmony. And above all, we must learn how to pause.

Harmony
is the inner cadence of contentment we feel when the melody of life is in tune.
When somehow we're able to strike the right chord — to balance the expectations
of our families and our responsibilities in the world on the one hand with our
inner needs for spiritual growth and personal expression on the other.

This
is one of the most difficult challenges any woman (or man) faces because it requires
that we make choices every day. And yet most of us often feel too tired to choose
anything more than what to have for dinner!

Perhaps
this explains why we often hear only a cacophony of dissonant demands that drown
out the symphonies our souls long to compose.

Usually,
when the distractions of daily life deplete our energy, the first thing we eliminate
is the thing we need the most: quiet, reflective time. Time to dream, time to
think, time to contemplate what's working and what's not, so that we can make
changes for the better.

On
the Simple Abundance path we begin to learn how to pause. As we bring the
principles of gratitude, simplicity, and order into our lives, harmony emerges.

We
learn to balance demands with pleasures, moments of solitude with a need for companionship,
work with play, activity with rest, the inner woman with the outer packaging.

Today,
just try slowing down. Approach the day as if it were an adagio — a melody
played in an easy, graceful manner. Listen to music that soothes and uplifts your
spirit.

And
while you listen, pause to consider how all the individual notes come together
harmoniously to give expression to the entire score.

So
it shall be with your world. With harmony as your guide, trust that your everyday
moments will soon begin to resonate in a rhapsody of fulfillment.

~
Excerpted from Simple Abundance ©1995 by Sarah Ban Breathnach