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Series: bride blog
Series: pregnancy & parenting

Silence & Stillness

March 21, 2012 · by gemmaruthbrown · in Uncategorized. ·

Let my seeing and hearing

my words and my actions

be rooted in a silent certainty of your presence.

Let my passions for life

and the longings for justice that stir within me

be grounded in the experience of your stillness.

Philip Newell

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‘I don’t want to wait anymore. 🌿 I choose to believe that there is nothing more sacred or profound than this day. I choose to believe that there may be a thousand big moments embedded in this day, waiting to be discovered like tiny shards of gold. The big moments are the daily, tiny moments of courage and forgiveness and hope that we grab on to and extend to one another. That’s the drama of life, swirling all around us, and generally I don’t even see it, because I’m too busy waiting to become whatever it is I think I am about to become. The big moments are in every hour, every conversation, every meal, every meeting. I believe that if we cultivate a true attention, a deep ability to see what has been there all along, we will find worlds within us and between us, dreams and stories and memories spilling over. The nuances and shades and secrets and intimations of love and friendship and marriage and parenting are action-packed and multicolored, if you know where to look. Today is your big moment.’ @sniequist

He kissed me goodbye this morning and waved me off while happily digging into his daddy’s cereal bowl. 💔❤️💔 (PS: why is someone else’s food always more appetising than the stuff you put on their plate?)

Just realised that I forgot to post about my April reads! These two were great. #EleanorOliphantIsCompletelyFine is entertaining, gripping and an insight into loneliness hidden in full view. Definitely recommend as a summer read. And @nicholenordeman’s beautiful book on motherhood is a treasure. Her own reflections, teamed with extra contributions from the likes of @jenhatmaker and @sniequist, are full of ‘me too!’ moments and wise advice about every stage of motherhood. I’ll be reading this again. Also, check out Nichole’s song by the same title. #SlowDown #GemmasMonthlyReads

Today’s highs included making fresh strawberry juice and drinking it out of a Big Boy cup, blowing on rows of fluffy dandelions and chasing @emwostew with a watering can (we got her, in case you were wondering!) Today’s low was standing in the shower - in the middle of the afternoon - with a fully clothed toddler whose Very Big Feelings had become too much and who just needed his mummy right there and then. Motherhood is like any other part of life: it is nuanced, up and down, seriously hard work and unimaginably joyful all at once. We don’t always allow space for these in our descriptions of motherhood - or indeed of mothers. But I think I just wanted to share this to remind us to cheer each other on. These are absolutely crazy years. We’ll look back on them and miss them, I know...but also wonder how we all survived. Let’s be kind and encourage one and another in the mean time. In all these highs and lows, Mama, you are doing an INCREDIBLE job. 😘

Everyone’s got these cute pics of themselves kissing their babies in here and I’m just assessing how many flower heads a toddler can handle before their parents are banned from a location.

“Play: time spent without purpose.” David Brown Challenged to “just do the joyful thing” as @brenebrown puts it in her Netflix special. A good idea this Bank Holiday weekend. Just do the joyful thing.

Back to work tomorrow after lots of adventures with my wee pal. Current favourite things are singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star with matching hand motions, ‘cleaning’ the house, and doing just about anything as long as it’s outside: today we collected pine cones, sticks and leaves - and one of us, ahem, tried to eat every flower he could find. I love this stage. 🌿 I’ve said this before but I used to worry so much about not enjoying the next phase as much as the last...in my experience, they just keep getting better!

Brightly coloured doors and pretty tiles...back in #BT9. 💛

So many great #EarthDay posts around here today! I’m heartened to know just how many of us are on journeys in terms of how we treat our planet, considering our rhythms and practices like reducing waste, reusing more, recycling better and buying better, too. It can all be quite overwhelming though, so I would just encourage you to ponder this thought: what does it mean for you to tread more lightly on the Earth? Consider that and make it mean something in your next step. That’s all any of us can do. 🌸

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theguardian.com/education/2017… 3 hours ago
RT @SJAMcBride: European election turnout in Northern Ireland was a mediocre 45.14%. Despite the enormity of Brexit for NI & the poll being… 1 day ago
A great way to return from mat leave - launch this challenging and necessary campaign! #DontBeRubbish Bishop Harold… twitter.com/i/web/status/1… 1 day ago
RT @Sojourners: Perhaps church is one of those last safe havens, where we can cry in public for no reason. sojo.net/articles/why-i… 2 days ago
@davemagill That was a tricky one, wasn’t it? Was glad we only needed 3! 2 days ago

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5 WAYS TO LOOK AFTER THE PLANET TODAY
The invisible mother
Cutting corners at Christmas
The stories we tell
An afternoon at Loaf Pottery

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