The Pause That Truly Refreshes
By Steve and Claudia Goodman 

Racing through life at breakneck speed.

As my fifth birthday approached, I longed for a tricycle more than anything in the whole world.  I had watched other neighborhood children ride theirs up and down the streets.  It looked like such fun.  At last the long-anticipated day arrived.  When my dad came home for lunch I greeted him at the door.  He took me out to the car with him and opened the trunk.  There was a shiny new tricycle!  I could hardly believe it!  The moment he set it on the ground I snatched it and almost flew down the sidewalk at top speed. 

“Wait!” he panted, chasing after me.  He finally caught up and placing his hands over mine on the handlebars gently slowed down the tricycle.  “Don’t I get a hug for this?” he asked playfully. 

But I couldn’t be bothered with formalities.  All I wanted was to ride — as far and as fast as I could.  Where was I going?  That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.  I just needed to get there as soon as possible, and I didn’t have time to stop for anyone or anything.      

How often do we race through life with no thought of where we are going?  All we know is that we have to get there fast.  But without clear direction, where will we end up?  Perhaps just where the sidewalk stops — at a dead end.

Our beloved prophet has given us this sound advice:  “We need to build ourselves spiritually.  We live in a world of rush and go, of running here and there and in every direction.  We are very busy people.  We have so much to do.  We need to get off by ourselves spiritually … Get by yourself and think of things of the Lord, of things of the Spirit …Think of things of God.  Just meditate and reflect for an hour about yourself and your relationship to your Heavenly Father and your Redeemer.  It will do something for you.”  (Gordon B. Hinckley, Brigham City Utah Regional Conference, Feb. 22, 1997)

We all agree with Pres. Hinckley’s counsel in principle, but how is it possible to find time to meditate in our busy lives?  It’s challenging enough just to find time to read the scriptures.  Is it really possible to hold still long enough to think — without getting distracted or falling asleep?  Perhaps the biggest challenge for most of us is getting started.  Once we are convinced that we need to make it a priority, the battle is half won.  Here are a few ideas that may help.  They can also be used to encourage our children to establish the habit in their youth of taking time to review their life and ponder.

Find a quiet time and place.

Inspiration comes to those who take time to meditate, but since it comes through the still, small voice, we must be in a quiet, unhurried frame of mind to recognize it.  Predetermining a time that might be easier for us to clear our minds is a good way to start.  Also selecting a place where we feel we can be undisturbed and not worry about the constraints of time helps.

The prophet Nephi gained much of his inspiration because he took time to ponder.  He records in 1 Nephi 11:1:  “…as I sat pondering in my heart I was caught away in the Spirit of the Lord, yea, into an exceedingly high mountain…”  Because he took time to wonder, he received deep understanding regarding his father’s dream and also many other principles of the gospel.

Our teenage daughter takes advantage of Sunday afternoons when not much else is going on to spend some time alone in her room reading through her patriarchal blessing and evaluating what is going on in her life.  It’s a great time to reassess and fine-tune the direction she is taking.

If we think about it, each of us can find times when we can clear life aside for a few moments to tap into the things that matter most.

Ponder the scriptures.

It’s hard to create in a vacuum, and it may be challenging, especially for children, to just sit and think.  Sometimes we need a jumpstart.  One of the most effective ways to set the stage for meditation is scripture study, because the scriptures open our minds to the things of the Spirit and the meaning of life.  Probably all of us can think of instances when scripture study led us to deeper insights into our lives. 

Pres. Joseph F. Smith had such an experience recorded in D&C 138:1,11:  “…I sat in my room pondering over the scriptures…As I pondered over these things which are written, the eyes of my understanding were opened…”  Perhaps the most effective scripture study of all is linked with meditation.  Then it truly applies to us.

Set the tone with music.

Another powerful mood-setter is music, since music is the language of the soul.  Music has such a profound ability to soften our hearts and bring them in tune with the Spirit.   

One day I was cleaning the house.  I happened to have a Tabernacle Choir CD playing in the background.  I was only dimly aware of the music.  Then the song “This Is the Christ” began to play.  It touched me so deeply that I had to stop what I was doing and sit on the sofa to listen to it.  Tears streamed down my cheeks, and as the music continued, the words to “Consider the Lilies” seemed to be spoken directly to me.  Profound insights flooded my soul.  The answers to questions I had been pondering for quite some time were clear, and I felt the Lord’s love wash over me.  The music had created a precious and unexpected moment of pondering for me.

Feel God’s presence in nature.

Another way to clear our minds is to walk out into nature.  It seems to wash our cares away and put life back into perspective.  Sometimes I have wondered if part of the reason is because the elements of nature are obedient to the Lord and reflect His glory. 

I’ll never forget an experience I had many years ago.  I was concerned about a particular problem in my life that I felt no one else could understand.  I felt I needed time to ponder it and receive insight from the Lord, but how to proceed I did not know.  I had several small children, and we lived in a very small house.  There were always distractions.  Finally one day, I arranged for a neighbor to watch the children for an hour.  I left the house, not knowing where to go.  I finally found a small park nearby with heavily wooded areas at the sides of the path where people seldom went.  I left the path and sat concealed among the trees.  I pondered my problem and then spoke to the Lord about it.  The insight I received on that occasion was quiet and simple, yet so profound that it still guides my thoughts today.  It was God’s creations that provided the atmosphere for my meditation.  

Take advantage of the temple.

No matter how cramped our living quarters, how noisy our children, how cluttered our work places or school, how pressured our social life, there is always one place that is free of distractions — the temple.  It naturally invites the spirit and frees our minds and hearts to ponder the things of God.  Again, most of us have probably had experiences — sometimes profound and life changing, other times very quiet and subtle — that change our lives.

Our teenage children enjoyed attending the temple once a week with their friends to do baptisms for the dead.  On a particularly stressful week with several large projects due at school, one of our children was overwhelmed with how much he had to do.  I said, “Well, maybe just this once you could skip going to the temple.  That would give you a few more hours.”

“Oh, Mom, I couldn’t do that,” he replied.  “Going to the temple is what clears my mind.  It brings me peace and makes my whole week go better.”  Very young he had learned the power of taking time to meditate and rely on the Lord to see him through his storms of life.

Turn off the TV.

Because pondering takes effort, it’s a temptation for all of us to just turn on the TV, the radio, the computer, etc. and vegetate.  It’s very relaxing and so much easier to let something else do the entertaining — and sometimes it’s exactly what we need to unwind!  We just have to be careful not to fall into the trap of never thinking for ourselves.  President David O. McKay pointed out that what we think about in our spare time, when we don’t have to think, is what determines our character.

Make the sacrament a time of meditation.

The Lord has provided a built-in time for us to meditate at least once every single week — as we partake of the sacrament.  It is a time to evaluate how well we have kept our covenants with Him during the preceding week, to remember all He has done for us, and to resolve how we can do better.  If we discipline ourselves to shut out the world and focus on our relationship with Deity, how great can be the rewards.  There have been times for me when impressions during the sacrament were so powerful that they brought tears to my eyes.  The Lord truly can speak to us if we will clear our minds and hearts so that He can enter in.    

Seize the moment.

While inspiration often comes when we set aside a larger block of time to meditate, it can also come when we least anticipate it.  Sometimes the answer we have been seeking for years flashes to us at an unexpected moment.  If we never allow ourselves to meditate except when we have a large block of time in an ideal setting, we may watch life pass us by.  Snatching a few moments to think while the children are playing happily together, while waiting for a child to finish soccer practice or a piano lesson, while driving to pick up someone, while waiting in the dentist’s office, can all provide moments for pondering.  We may not solve all our dilemmas in one sitting, but over time, many precious insights can surface.  Many of the ideas for our Meridian articles come this way — one insight at a time.        

Capture impressions when they come.

So often the inspiration that comes to us is fleeting.  I learned long ago to try to always carry a pen and small notebook with me.  Then as thoughts come to me as I am driving in the car, listening to a talk in sacrament meeting, or having a conversation with someone, I jot them down.  I usually think, “Oh, I’ll remember that thought.”  But I don’t. 

A scripture journal can be an effective way to capture insights we gain from the scriptures.  Both of our daughters who served missions loved this idea.  Another daughter has kept a General Conference journal for several years and loves to look back over the insights she has gained. 

A regular journal can also be priceless.  So many times I don’t even realize the insight that has come to me during the day until I take time to record it at night.  I find myself thinking, “Nothing really happened today.”  Then as I pause to reflect, I am amazed at how many times the Lord intervened for me and at the insights I have gained.  If I had not taken time to record them, they would have been lost to my conscious memory.      

Take the time to pause.

Yes, as President Hinckley observed, “We live in a world of rush and go, of running here and there and in every direction.  We are very busy people.”  Let us make sure that we are not rushing headlong into the middle of nowhere, as I did on my tricycle.  May we take the time to be sure of our direction before we take off.  That way our priorities will guide us to our desired destination.  Meditation is a master key to keep us on course.