Let your loveliness shine on us,
and bless the work we do,
bless the work of our hands.
-Psalm 90:17
Terce and the two hours that follow are known as the "little hours" because they are shorter and (for most people) come right at the heart of the workday. These hours invite us to pause briefly and find simple ways to come back to God, to rest and reconnect with the present moment. Pius Parsch calls them "breathing spells for the soul."
We like to call it "recess." :-)
At mid-morning, the day is still young and, ideally, you are still energetic as you find your rhythm with your work and activities. Some days you may already be feeling stressed or overwhelmed by schedules and deadlines. Others may be filled with delicious possibilities from which you can choose. Either way, interrupting what you're doing to ask for God's blessing is a powerful way to keep your day on track (or get it back on track).
If you tend to get caught up in your work in head-down, nose-to-the-grindstone fashion, you may want to set an alarm so you remember to take a mid-morning break. Whether you can spare 30 seconds or ten minutes, the key is consciously shifting your awareness from doing to being.
On the off-chance you don't have access to a playground, here are a few ideas for other ways to spend your recess time:
- Close your eyes, breathe and count: six breaths (inhalations and exhalations) takes about 30 seconds, give or take.
- Bring God into whatever you're doing or working on. Ask for His help, ask Him to work through you, call in some angels, and be ready to be dazzled by the inspiration, solutions and answers that will appear.
- Stand up, look out the window, stretch.
- If there are other people around you, let your mid-morning break be a prayer and blessing for them.
- "Walk" a labyrinth with a pencil or even virtually. Click here for some options.
- Spend some time reflecting on the Psalm above, and feel God's loveliness shine on and through you.
Notice the effect this mid-morning break has on your attitude, mood and productivity. We'd love to hear all about it, and if you have mid-morning rituals of your own, let us know what works for you!