Maybe Stillness Matters
Week One Response: The Narrative & Reflection Project May/June Edition
Okay… so, my response for the first week is a little late—what can I say… life happened. But maybe that’s what makes this response even sweeter.
When I came up with the prompts for the May/June Edition of The Narrative & Reflection Project, I just knew that I the prompt about spending a day in the Emerald City was going to be the first prompt that I responded to—I’ve been on another Wicked kick lately. However, that’s not the case; it felt best that the first response be to the question of what stood out to me last Christmas.
So, the thing that stood out to me during Christmas 2024 is stillness. Last Christmas wasn’t the typical Christmas for my family. Instead of celebrating Christmas in Tennessee (as we typically do because that’s where a majority of the family live), we decided to rent an Airbnb in St. Louis and spend Christmas with my great Aunt and Uncle who live in Swansea, IL.
For me, it was also a vacation because the only places that I’ve been since 2021 is Springfield (where I currently live) and my hometown (when I went back for holidays). But the entire time during the trip, I remember thinking to myself, “Everything feels calm. It seems Still.” I have my reasons on why that was a repetitive thought I had, but against the back drop of life recently—the last week of school and just being too tired to think—that thought I had at Christmas about stillness seems to be reminding to take time to myself before I try to get caught up on things.