Writer and personal friend Seja Brumley joins us again to share how quieting the mind and being present helps connect to our souls and recover peace. Seja writes:
When my husband, Joe, and I were dating, his band would practice in the basement of the house we lived in. Matt would come in through the kitchen with his bass guitar, say hello, and head down to the basement. Dan and Joe were already playing their guitars with riffs warming up their fingers.
Then there would be silence, and Matt would play a single, deep, resounding note on his bass. It felt like my heart was outside of my body. The old house’s thin walls reverberated with each subsequent note. The bass kept its steady, grounding foundation as if to say, “I am here. No matter the melody, the ups and downs, the twists and turns, I am the grounding force carrying this thing through to the finish.”
Who knew there could be such a profound life lesson from a bass guitar?
I sit in the waiting room. The last time I was here, the doctor said there was some concern with my mammogram, and we should look again. So here I am.
I sit in the chair with a soft seat and wood arms, the woman next to me on her phone, the television on the wall showing a couple discussing what tile they should use in their kitchen remodel.
I look down at my lap and close my eyes. My heartbeat is strong, more pronounced than normal for one sitting still. My name is called and I am taken back to a consultation room where the doctor says that all is well, come back in a year. Tears release.
I walk out of the doctor’s office, the sun shining down on my face, the bass of my heart still strongly beating, but pulling me back to the center.
I am here. I have always been here. I will always be here, holding you, supporting you through this life.
One thing I’ve learned is that life’s melody fluctuates. We have events we celebrate and moments we grieve. Our attention pulled in various directions from minute to minute - the news, school, work, caring for friends, children, parents, a variety of things that can cause us to be anxious, and our minds search for a solution it may not grasp as soon as we would like.
It is in those times, we connect to our bass line - our heartbeat, our center, our soul. In quieting the mind and moving into the steady beat of our spirit, we return to the peace that resides within each of us, we remember the love we inherently are made of, and we come home to ourselves.
Question
Take moments throughout the week to close your eyes, feel your heartbeat, and breathe. What can you invite peace to replace within you?
Peace,
Seja