What I Love

I attended a powerful movement/writing workshop this past weekend with Lori Saltzman with The Moving Center School in California. Her work is based on the well known 5 Rhythms developed by Gabrielle Roth.

I’m preparing to get back to work this summer on my forthcoming project on everyday spirituality and wanted the opportunity to do some creative writing around this theme.

As the weekend wound down, Lori guided us through an impromptu writing exercise at the end entitled “What I love ….”

She began by asking us to reflect on where our thoughts/attention go most of the time—or as she put it, “We all worship at an altar ….what altar are you worshipping at? The altar of self-criticism, judgment, over-work, perfectionism … or are you worshipping—or celebrating–what matters most to you?”

We sat and wrote for 20 minutes straight and made a colorful list of what we love, what matters most to us in life. She challenged us to be as specific about the daily details of our lives as possible. Then from this long list, we had to choose seven things and share them with the group.

These were the first seven things that popped off the page from my very long list of What I Love:

When I can drop an argument like a hot potato.

Snuggling Jonah’s long, gangly seven year old body in the morning under our big, warm, fluffy comforter.

Feeling God rush through my limbs when I dance.

The big bright full moon streaming down on my face at night.

The silent connection the three of us share after our first bite of really, really good homemade soup.

The delicious stillness and calm that fills me after my morning mediation.

Riding bikes with Jonah in the morning under the pink, quiet, yawning sky.

It may sound trite, but I need these jolts, these reminders of what really matters –I think we all do. It’s too easy to move into going, doing, thinking, tasking mode and forget how tender and fleeting these moments together truly are.

I came home last night and read the original long list to my husband and son—it was fun to watch them beam as most of the list was connected to them.

I think I’ll be moving a little slower, a little more intentionally into my month after this weekend.

What altar do you worship at? Make a list, inspire yourself.

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The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photo: My son walking with one of his best friends in Fort Davis. He loves his young male friends with such ferocity, he calls them his “bwuddahs.”