Tag Archives: peaceful state

A Moment’s Notice

I woke up to the sound of a bulldozer knocking down trees next to my home. The woods that offered privacy, shade and homes for the animals are no more. Poof.

I stood at the kitchen window in horror as trees were tossed carelessly into a dumpster. Their life and the years they stood became irrelevant in the path of progress.

The edge of our driveway is the beam to the left.

The last few days the machine’s have been still, and that’s been much needed. I knew the two lots were for sale, but didn’t realize they’d sold. Someone is building a couple of houses there, with one facing the street I live on, and another one facing the street behind me. My daughter and I had no warning this was about to happen. It all transpired within a moment’s notice.

This morning I sat in silence on my bench in the front yard for the first time in days. The one positive I’ve noticed is there’s more light with less trees. Over the weekend I was still adjusting to the new landscape, or the lack thereof and texted my daughter. I felt helpless over the situation and was distraught over the woods being gone. Then my daughter responded with this nugget of wisdom.

“I understand Momma. I wish we would’ve had a head’s up, but maybe it’s better that we didn’t”. ~My daughter.

This cup is empty, but my heart is full.

When God wants us to stand still and trust in His plan, we relinquish control. Instead of focusing on what’s gone, I can appreciate what this change brought, such as more light and a cool breeze entering the yard. We won’t see His full plan immediately, but He’s watching how we behave in a moment’s notice.

Calm Amid the Chaos

In Fire and Rain I was on a mission to find the perfect bench for the firepit area. The bench purchase was a little outside my comfort zone, but I wanted to enhance the sanctuary vibe encompassed by the yard. Well…Tada!

Once the bench was in place, I wanted a little table, or outdoor pouf to sit between the chair and bench. This is the worst time of year to find outdoor furniture, but I drove to all my favorite stores to see my options. Instead of furniture I saw stacks of unopened boxes of Christmas trees. 😮

The table in the photo was at Target, in the Magnolia section with no price tag. (There’s 3 things right there that scare my wallet.) I found an employee to scan it for me, and when she told me the price, I laughed out loud, and exited the store. The next morning the table was still on my mind, but I continued to Google ‘outdoor side table’. I saw one at Urban Outfitters that looked similar, but with shipping it would cost more than the one at Target, so I followed my heart back to Target and gave the table a home.

This entire process brought up the thought of ‘what a year can do’. There’s a noticeable difference in what the yard looks like now compared to last year, but it took an entire year to get it here. We want immediate change, but lasting change occurs gradually over time. I wouldn’t have made these furniture choices a year ago, but I’ve been pondering the possibilities for months. It’s a foundational start, but more time will pass before it’s complete.


I don’t invite people to my home very often, but this year I want them to feel invited in. This space was created to connect and soak up some calm amid the chaos.

Here’s all of the posts about creating spaces:

Wide Open Spaces, Fire and Rain, In My Corner, and Spaces to Grow.


A Good Pour

Posting The Perfect Cup hit home to some of my friends how serious I am about coffee. It got me thinking how other things pour into my day, and how we have the power to control the flow.

I love the way God inserts himself into my day, or I believe He’s always here, but sometimes He has to do something spectacular to snag my attention. This morning I started a cup of coffee with the dripper, and after pouring all of the water through the filter, I sat down at my desk.

I’ve been telling myself to send this one email all week, but just realized we are halfway through the week. I typed up the email, clicked send, and looked at the empty coaster on my desk. The cup of coffee that normally sits there was sitting in the kitchen, so I walked back in.

I lifted the dripper and was surprised to see the cup was full all the way to the rim. It couldn’t have held one more drop of water or it would have spilled onto the counter. I had to pour some coffee out to make room for cream, and that hurt my feelings a little, but this made me pause and think.

We need to be mindful of how full we get our cup, and to leave room for the good. By the end of the day my darlings we need to feel that deep satisfaction and say, that was a good pour.

All that Peace

It’s easy to give away pieces of ourselves to everyone around us, but we need to keep some of that peace for ourselves. We love our people, but I’ve heard we need to treat ourselves like someone we love.

This meme by SC Lourie is sitting on my desktop wanting to be shared. I don’t know about you, but I need this reminder and printed it out to view regularly.

SC Lourie/Butterflies and Pebbles

It’s a give and take, and I do better at giving than receiving. I love people and it brings me joy to give away my smiles, my laughter, and pretty soon some hugs, but it’s also a responsibility to give that all back to me. Otherwise, I won’t have anything to give and that would be a sad day Inbarbsworld.

To have all that peace, I do peaceful things, like going for walks. Just a stroll around the neighborhood, and taking some deep breaths does wonders. My coffee intake has gone from sipping the magical brew throughout the day to drinking a couple of cups. I light candles to enhance the atmosphere of the day. The one I have burning right now is a frosted pine scent and smells like Christmas.

To keep all that peace it’s best to not let anyone take it. People aren’t allowed to walk into my life and take my peace (family included). Be kind to yourself my darling, and take a moment for yourself to gather up all that peace.

Filled with peace

When I first started this Blog, I wanted to write like Melody Beattie. I’ve read her books more than once and she brings me peace. It was more than her words, maybe it was her vibe while writing, like she was filled with peace and laying it on the page to be shared.

It took years of writing to catch that peaceful vibe, but that’s what draws people in. I want you to feel peace, even if it’s just for the 2 minutes it takes to read this page, but this is more than just a Blog, it’s real life, and I want it to spill over into your life and envelop you.

Write the kind of Blog that you’d like to read.

Cristian Mahai

Every now and then, we order pizza and have it delivered to our door. There’s a small wooden table by the front door, specifically for contactless delivery. The other night, we had a pizza delivered, and I thought I’d given the driver ample time to leave, only to find he hadn’t left. He was standing in the yard underneath the Arbor. He saw me walk out to retrieve the pizza and said…

“I’m not supposed to say this, but you have a great setup here. This is the most peaceful front yard, I’ve ever walked through. It’s only my second time delivering here, but it’s by far my favorite. It’s filled with peace.”

With so many Blog posts to choose from, thank you for choosing mine. My hope is as you hang out on the page, you will be filled with peace.- Be happy and well, Barb.

To Step Away

I had to step away from my work.

We moved to a new online customer service platform last week, the second one since June, and there’s a lot to learn. I’ve also learned how and when to step away.

I read Stephen King’s Memoir, ‘On Writing.” He talks about how he always had a nook to write in. Underneath the stairway was one, but he does his best writing tucked away in a corner. He discourages writing out in the open and suggests going into a room, shutting the door and forbidding anyone to open it.

Well Stephen, I’m sorry, but that’s not me.

Photo by Andrea Davis on Pexels.com

I need an open, yet peaceful space for writing. I can see myself sitting outside once the weather cooperates.

Going off Stephen’s suggestion, I slid my desk into the corner of the room to do some serious writing, but here’s what evolved. It’s where I do my best work, but for my job. When I walk over to the desk I know it’s time to get serious about work, but writing is not work for me.

I don’t have a distracting environment. It’s peaceful for the most part, so I unplugged my laptop, took it off my desk and walked over to the kitchen table to write. Here I sit writing this post because this was a hard lesson to learn. I have to step away from work and take time for this Blog. It’s almost a need to take time for writing.

Photo by Lisa Fotios on Pexels.com

No one is going to do it for me, but if I’m not careful, I’ll get wrapped up in work and it will take away my writing.

I’m no Stephen King, but I fancy myself a writer. Life is a beautiful thing to be enjoyed, but writing can easily get knocked down the list. If it’s important it will take time and the path is long. Anything worthwhile doesn’t happen overnight, otherwise it’d be easy to succeed.

Thank you for meeting me here today. I’ll go back to work realizing writing may not feel like work, but it’s just as important as work. There are times my work can wait, but writing cannot, and it’s okay to step away.

Leave Me Alone

When you have the opportunity to be alone, take it. Being alone gives us the chance to just sit with ourselves and see if we’re happy with that. A lot of people don’t like this feeling and have to be busy or around other people to avoid it. Staying busy and the noise and activity of people keeps us from sitting with ourselves. We have to like ourselves before anyone else will.

walkawaBeing alone and being lonely are two different things. One contains solitude and the other contains insecurity. You are the only ‘person’ that can make you happy. We look for happiness in other people and things. Having been through the gambit of materialism which gave me a mountain of stuff to take care of. What I needed to take care of was me.

Letting Go of people, places and things is what I had to do. Once those were removed all I was left with was God and me. I knew God had a plan that was much better than any plan I could construct. My best day of thinking got me a 16 year membership, thus far, to Alcoholics Anonymous. I was ready to dump all my junk and follow God.

Sitting with yourself doesn’t mean a thinking session and trying to fix what’s unbalanced in your life. It truly means sit, breath and listen. Here is a breathing technique to empty your mind from Lesson One of Letting Go.

To breathe peacefully:
1. Close your eyes
2. Take in 3 breaths
3. Let go of the last breath and wait for your body to breathe by itself
4. Be patient as you wait
5. Allow the inhale to occur as much or as little as it wants
6. Let go of your exhale and wait for the inhale to occur
7. Focus on consistently letting go of your exhale
8. Relax your body as your exhale occurs

Breathe for at least 10 minutes until you are very calm. Once you are calm, focusing on each breath, observe when a thought arises in your mind. (Note – You are not looking to think. You are just being aware when a thought arises.)

1. Write this thought down, unedited
2. Return to breathing and being peaceful
3. If another thought arises, write this down, unedited
4. Return to your breath and being peaceful
Continue writing all thoughts as they occur. Do not focus on the thought. Do not consider the thought. Simply write it down and return to your breath. Allow your mind to empty.

This exercise will:
1. Enhance your ability to obtain a calm, peaceful state
2. Clear your mind of clutter-thoughts
3. Clear your emotional center from negative energy

There is something therapeutic when it comes to writing on paper. The thought travels from your mind, down your arm, through the hand and pen, onto the paper. It’s a mental, physical and emotional release that is well worth the time.