As someone who enjoys living by rituals and rhythms as opposed to strict routines and rigid schedules, I have spent the last few months cultivating a daily morning and evening rhythm. Over the past handful of years, I have tried this and that when it comes to daily rhythms, and nothing has really stuck long-term. But the good thing with that is that I have learned what works and what doesn't work with my personality and preferences and tastes. And while I could sit here and tell you all about my daily rhythms in depth, I decided that it would be better to share about my daily Sabbath hour, which is actually a term that I just learned about recently. It, however, perfectly describes what I've been doing daily for several months now. It just finally has a proper title to it. {{smiles}}
The word sabbath means to rest. In the Christian religion, Sundays are marked as a sabbath day as the start of a brand-new week. In Jewish culture, a sabbath day is marked on the seventh day of the week. But you don't have to come to an observation of a Sabbath day (or hour) just under religious practices. Sabbath simply means a time to rest. This is something more than just a time to sit in front of the TV and chill out while you watch your favorite show. While there is certainly a time for that as well as benefits with that activity, and I am certainly not opposed to enjoying such an activity...in fact, I'm a big believer in times of doing such a thing, but a Sabbath rest is more than that. It's a kind of rest that restores and renews your mind and encourages your soul and brings peace to your heart. It is a truly lifegiving, soul-filling sort of time. A time when you fill your mind and soul and heart with good things...wise words and thoughts, beautiful artwork or poetry, essays or writings that bring you encouragement and hope and peace. All the good, lifegiving things.
Back in the spring, I decided that I wanted to cultivate a time after I woke up each morning towards something like what I just described in the previous paragraph. At that time, I didn't know about a "Sabbath hour"...but it was certainly what I was trying to cultivate. I just didn't know what to call it yet. I wanted to cultivate a set apart time first thing in my day towards filling my mind with good things. This is, ideally, before I encounter any news on my phone or any headlines anywhere. This is before I set about my daily tasks and things to do. It is before I allow anything else into my mind. This Sabbath hour is simply a time when I purposely choose to fill my mind, heart, and soul with lifegiving words and such that really, truly get my day started off on the right foot...a positive, encouraging, uplifting, beautiful foot. It is a time of renewal and refreshment, of inspiration and restoring creativity, and of remembering my birthright to deep, inner happiness. It is a time of comfort and healing. And after doing it for the past six months or so, I can say that it is honestly one of the best things I have ever done. I will say that my Sabbath hour isn't always perfect. Sometimes I am in a hurry and don't get to it, other times there may be less time that I can devote to such stillness, but I can say that consistency is better than perfection. And even just ten minutes is better than nothing, though, I do love days when I can delight in my full Sabbath hour.
And, by the way, calling it a "Sabbath hour" doesn't literally mean ONE HOUR. It simply means a set apart time for whatever you wish to bring into your mind and soul. For me, it usually is about 30 minutes or so. It can also be a Sabbath afternoon, a Sabbath evening, a Sabbath nature walk or relaxing bath. It can be whatever suits you and your personality and tastes. Your quiet time, your Sabbath hour, should be as unique as you are.
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Sabbath is more than the absence of work; it is not just a day off, where we catch up on television or errands. It is the presence of something that arises when we consecrate a period of time to listen to what is most deeply beautiful, nourishing, or true. It is a time consecrated with our attention, our mindfulness, honoring those quiet forces of grace of spirit that sustain and heal us.
~ Wayne Muller ~
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So what do I actually do in my Sabbath hour?
Firstly, I get in my most comfy corner in my room and curl up in my chair, feet propped up on my ottoman and indulge myself in a stack of truly lifegiving books. I am a fiction reader at night, but at this time in the morning, I enjoy perusing and reading from a stack of non-fiction books. At the moment, I am working my way through a few of them, and that is what I have in my Sabbath hour corner.
My book stack includes Romancing the Ordinary by Sarah Ban Breathnach, which is a book divided into monthly chapters of daily essays pertaining to living through the senses and experiencing life's magical offerings within the most ordinary of days and moments. Many of the essays speak right to my soul, and I really love this book. I also have her other book Simple Abundance, which is written in much the same way, but isn't quite as good, in my opinion. There are quite a few occasions when I choose to skip over the day's entry and just move on to the next one on the following day. There's a lot in that particular book that feels very irrelevant and some outdated thinking patterns that I don't prefer. Then I really wanted to begin reading poetry this year, but honestly, so much of the poetry genre just doesn't jive with me. However, I can say the exact opposite about Mary Oliver's poems. She writes poetry that actually speaks to my soul, and I have really, really enjoyed reading a couple of her poems each morning. I'm still working through her book, Devotions, at the moment, and it is a pure delight of a book. Those are my three daily stand-bys...I shan't go a Sabbath hour without reading those gems.
Along with those three books, I then choose a couple other books that I want to work through at that given time. Right now, I am reading Peace is Every Step by Thich Nhat Hanh. This is a book on mindfulness, a topic which I can very often find a bit overly talked about in some quite ridiculous ways and such, not to mention, extremely overly marketed. But I came across this book for a few cents at a rummage sale and I had been wanting to read some of this author's works, so I decided to give it a try. And I'm really loving it. It's a simple book, but deeply profound. I enjoy reading something with a spiritual perspective as well during my quiet time, and this book was the perfect starting point. Sarah Ban Breathnach's books that I mentioned above do have a spiritual aspect to them, too, which I quite enjoy.
And finally, if I'm in the mood, I do enjoy dipping in and out of another book. Sometimes, it may be a book by Gladys Taber or Susan Branch or a book on the Celtic Wheel of the Year or a book on ayurveda or holistic health and wellness or a book of nature writing. Just anything that tickles my fancy on that particular day. With this final book in my stack, it can change weekly or sometimes I may stick with it for longer, but I just enjoy dipping in and out of it. This is not always a book that I read straight through entirely.
I keep a few pens and pencils next to me as I read because I do love underlining and writing little notes in my books...or doodling in the margins. And, of course, I keep a small spiral notebook for writing down any favorite quotes or specific entry page numbers that I want to refer back to.
My Sabbath hour is a time of truly filling my mind with good things...wisdom, encouragement, beauty, hope, inspiration, wonder, peace, calm. It is a completely chilled out, relaxed, no-pressure time. And I believe this is true, real, genuine self-care. This is a time of taking care of my well-being, emotionally, mentally, and even physically, as I do some breathwork during this time as well as some other gentle exercises for my nervous system.
I end my time by applying my essential oils for the morning and taking a few deep breaths to begin my day.
The thing about cultivating such a time is to recognize what works for you...your personality, the time you have for what you wish to do, and your season of life. I am in a season of life when I can devote 30 minutes or more to this time without neglecting any other responsibilities. I also know my personality and I know that strict routines and rigid schedules do not work well with me. That's why I prefer rituals and rhythms...they are a gentler and softer approach to my days.
My quiet time at night, a second sort of Sabbath hour, consists of reading a novel...or two. This is my favorite way to end the day and to settle my mind for bed and sleep. Depending on how tired I am and my mood, I tend to read anywhere from 15 minutes to a couple hours. I apply my nighttime essential oils and then go to sleep.
I am a firm believer in starting and ending your day as gently and slowly as you possibly can. Again, seasons of life will determine a lot of this. But I am in a season right now where I have total freedom of my time. I don't yet have children that I need to tend to and care for. I can spend as much time as I wish on my morning and evening rhythms. As life flows and seasons change, your daily rhythms flow and change, too. And that's not a bad thing. I really, truly believe you can make such a time work, regardless of what season you find yourself. If you do have children, incorporate a daily rhythm with them in starting and ending their day with gentleness and peacefulness. When they go to bed or down for a nap, take just 15 minutes for yourself to fill your mind with good things. Consistency is better than perfection and a few minutes is better than nothing. We need to know and learn that part of being gentle is going with the flow. And being gentle and kind with and towards yourself is key here...it is the utmost important thing. I think that if kindness and gentleness towards ourselves isn't a priority within our Sabbath hour (and just life in general) then we have missed the point of having a Sabbath hour.
And that is one thing that cultivating a Sabbath hour has taught me...being kind and gentle towards myself. And that right there could be a whole other post because I think it's SO very important.
I'd love to hear if you have a sort of Sabbath hour for yourself, and if so, what do you enjoy reading, listening to, looking at, or doing during your quiet time. Please share your thoughts!