I'm hosting SJT this month and chose rhythm, my OLW for 2026, as our theme.
I looked back at what I wrote in June when Carol asked us to reflect on our words for the year. I wrote about my efforts to establish several rhythms in my life: improve on my daily scripture reading (an ongoing challenge), continue my almost daily walks, and enjoy a summer of Tai Chi by finally taking a class. I have continued almost daily walks and fit in an exercise class when it's too hot to walk. Most weeks I reach my goal of exercising for five days.
Now about that Tai Chi class . . . we just finished our first round of lessons for beginners. I wasn't great about practicing on my own (even though we had videos), so I'll be repeating the beginner class, as will most of my classmates. It turns out that I need to be able to do the sequences by myself. I'm great at following the teacher, but I plan to practice more on my own when our new round of lessons begins in mid September.
Now, I would like to reference a book I've been reading, The Sacred Pulse: Holy Rhythms for Overwhelmed Souls by April Fiet. In the introduction to the book, Chuck DeGroat invites us to marinate in it, and to approach each chapter as a living invitation to a slower, deeper life. I plan to marinate in the invitation posed in Chapter 10 - Crescendo of Celebration: The Holy Rhythm of Appreciation.
The author reminds us that appreciation is a muscle we can exercise and strengthen. We can train our minds and our hearts to look for things to appreciate. She sums up this practice with these words: "As we learn to appreciate the small things in our lives and the small things we have accomplished, we also learn to love ourselves, we strengthen our muscles for loving our neighbors and for loving and appreciating the world we inhabit. Appreciation and celebration are a way of loving what's around and within us, and loving the One who made it all in the first place."
Fiet encourages us to dot our days with appreciation, allowing our gratitude to swell into a crescendo of celebration that will infuse our lives with the joy of God. I used to participate in a weekly invitation from Ruth Ayres called "Celebrate This Week." I learned that glancing back at my week opened up doorways for gratitude that I might have overlooked in my busy, hectic days. After looking for ways to celebrate each week, I found goodness that it was easy to overlook in the daily disappointments that can fill our days and far too easily become our lens for viewing the world.
I look forward to focusing on the rhythm of appreciating small moments in my everyday life by paying attention and celebrating them.
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