Serenity (2)
I seemingly talk a lot about two things – probably too much – nirvana and serenity. Nirvana is “an ideal condition of rest, harmony, stability, or joy”. Serenity is “the absence of mental stress or anxiety”. Both of these definitions come from what my daughter says is my favorite web site, dictionary.com. After thinking about both, I’m convinced we can achieve serenity without finding nirvana but we can’t find nirvana without achieving serenity.
Today, I saw two great examples of serenity. The first was a picture that my wife took outside of the front door of our house as a mid-afternoon storm (typical in Colorado) brought some rain to the surrounding hills:
Colorado is known for its majestic mountains (“purple mountains’ majesty”), but we love the afternoon lightning storms and showers just as much. Every so often we see a beautiful rainbow that reflects so perfectly the serenity of this place. It brings an incredible peace and a reminder of our awesome Creator.
I received a second example of serenity in a picture from my daughter. Only 3 weeks ago today, we were visiting the neo-natal intensive care unit visiting our newly born granddaughter. And now, 3 weeks later, my daughter sent us this:
For parents of a newborn, this is serenity. For 3 straight weeks now, Audrey has been off-cycle with her parents in regards to being awake when they need to sleep and being sound asleep when they need her wide awake. But this picture, regardless of timing, is an awesome example of serenity for parents of newborns – the time when the baby is totally crashed and that absence of anxiety arises!
I find moments of serenity from simple things today – the unique chime of the phone that only means a new picture of the grandbaby has arrived; that rainbow off on the horizon that means a storm is occurring somewhere else while peace and calm surround our home; that first snow on the mountains (occurred in August this year) that means winter is on the way and sweaters will be needed in the day and comforters on the beds at night; those brief moments of prayer and reflection in the morning before the busy-ness of the day sets in; and believe it or not, that first sip of the quad grande soy with whip caramel machiato taken right after leaving the drive through window at Starbucks!
All of these provide moments of serenity in an otherwise anything but serene day! Although I’m desperately seeking nirvana, I cherish every single minute of serenity, regardless of when it occurs!