Peace at the Kitchen Table

It’s getting colder, which means less time can be spent on the porch. It is simply less comfortable than it is in the spring and summer months. I love the porch so much. It is a place of peace for me, almost instantaneously. As soon as my feet touch the boards, I am strangely transported to another space in my mind.

I think I bought our house because of the porch and nothing else. Is that weird? Probably. But it’s my favorite place in our home, truly.

This morning, I craved a brighter sun, warmer air, and that calming spot on the porch. The winter months get tough for me because being outside is harder. I hate feeling chilled and I somehow manage to forget my hat or mittens often enough to want to return indoors.

This was a first morning when I really started to get down about the fact that winter is coming. Because I get that craving for heat.

But I read something interesting in Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now and gave this moment pause.

He writes, “All cravings are the mind seeking salvation or fulfillment in external things and in the future as a substitute for the joy of Being.”

This morning was simply not the morning for my porch, and whining about it in my mind, even if quietly and softly, was not the way to peace. Craving something I simply cannot have only pulls me away from the joy contained inside of me.

So I sat at the kitchen table, instead, and faced the back deck and our backyard. I glanced outside long enough to notice the leaves that were still intact and the yellowed ones preparing to fall. I noticed ladybugs climbing on the outside of the window and I heard children laughing at the school that sits on the other side of the road behind our house.

And there was peace.

Quiet, tranquil, delicious stillness.

I was grateful for the moment inside, where my tea would not cool too quickly, where I could hear LM3 playing in the living room.

Sometimes it takes me a few minutes, but I can stave off a craving and find joy in the present. Sometimes I can’t do it at all. But when I can, boy is life sweet. I hope Tolle’s words bring you some peace, too.

What brought you moments of peace this week? Share in the comments! I love hearing from you.