I love the heart-wrenching Broadway play, Aida by Tim Rice and Elton John.  I often listen to the soundtrack.  The haunting lyrics to one song often run through my mind.  Radames and Aida speak of the elaborate lives we lead in these extravagant times, not wanting to live like that.  Then their voices blend with the heart-felt desire:  “I just want our time to be slower and gentler, wiser, free.”

I suppose in my heart of hearts, I also have that plea or wish, which is always contested by the farm girl in me that must work, work, work, and the counsel in the scriptures to be “anxiously engaged in a good cause.”  I want both–to work hard and never waste a moment of time, but also to feel the peace that comes from a slower, gentler life.

I have no idea how to reconcile both in the same place in my heart.  My work is tiring, but invigorating.  Sometimes just living in a beautiful place has to do.  I can look out my windows at the majestic mountains around us and feel calm and secure.  I can walk through our yard and watch as the hyacinths and primroses break through the soil.  I can also pray anytime, anywhere, and feel peace.

Next week I am going to a quilt retreat.  Today I started to pack my projects.  Part of me wants to take nothing but a little hand work so I can relax and unwind.  The larger part of me is cramming more projects into suitcases than I will ever be able to finish.  John says I’m a “driven woman.”  I suppose that’s the side of me that usually wins.  I spent the day packing 130 Days for Girls kits to take to the retreat.  How could I not introduce 130 quilters to another new project they will really want to know about?   I can’t seem to help myself. . . .