JUST STOP

As I drive home from work the sun sets over the salt lake, bathing the lake in gold, dusting the sky with amber, peach and ochre. Sometimes the clouds sweep across the sky, mirrored in the lake, and other times they swell with a shining glory. It’s hard to put a sunset into words sometimes. They’re beautiful, amazing, stunning, breathtaking … or in one simple word, “WOW”.

Just stop. Two little words that I’m learning to listen to (it’s taking a while). Like a quiet word from above. Just stop. And here are some more that follow (if I listen). Look. Appreciate. Breathe. Slow down. Breathe some more.

Monkey and Bear have two different words: Just chill. They usually mean that in a different context, such as “Just chill, mum, I’m not going to do anything silly”, “Just chill, mum, of course I won’t stay up late/stay on the computer all night” or “Just chill, mum, I’ll do my homework” … and so on. And they’re right. Not about the “not going to do anything silly” (they are), “won’t stay up late” (they will) and “I’ll do my homework” (they won’t), but before I tackle the next big thing, whatever that is, I need to chill. Just stop … and breathe.