pause.










You know those movies that are just too fast? Too hasty. The ones where your mind can't keep up with the complicated twists and turns of the plot? Maybe it's a book that throws facts at you so quickly you begin to drop them. I don't know about you, but I've certainly been there. Those are the movies, the books, where the only thing I can do is pause. (That's a wonderful word, isn't it? I think so.) I discover the need to freeze time, just for a moment. That pause gives the silence necessary to collect myself, take a breath, and eventually, return. 

I don't think that this situation is found in books and movies exclusively. It can be found in life as well. I can testify to being overcommitted and absolutely swamped. I can also testify to enjoying every minute of the busyness. But there comes a time when you miss the important plot twist, when you drop a ball. Reality kicks in, and there is only one thing to do.      Pause.      Freeze time for a moment. Look around. Get a new perspective. Take a breath. Return to what is loved and enjoyed. Appreciate it to the fullest. Take a nap. Learn something new... learn to make soap.

The craft of soap making in itself is a bit of a pause. It goes delightfully against the modern philosophy of overcommitment and instant gratification. Take an hour or two to combine creativity and chemistry. To mix and measure and smell and stir. Put aside an afternoon to travel back in time and work along with history of your great-great-grandmother. Spend an hour of artistry with a dear friend to prepare gifts for the upcoming seasons. Fill the bumpy edged bar of creamy soap with souvenirs...pines needles, apple peels, a chicken feather. Take notes. Look around. Laugh. Breathe.      Pause. 

 Your soap won't be fully cured for three weeks. It will have to sit there in the basement corner, under all those blankets, smelling like lavender and fresh air. Even soap knows the benefit of taking a nap. Grab a coffee and some knitting needles, pull up a chair in front of the fire while you wait. You may doze off too for a bit. Yes. Soap has created the perfect silence. Think. Breathe.      Pause. 

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