Simply Being
“Now is the time to simply be” the words gently urged. And while the voice was admittedly somewhat annoying, the message resonated with something deep inside; an exhaustion, weariness, and pressure that urgently needed soothing.
I was in a demanding season full of breastfeeding, diaper changes, toddler potty-training, interrupted nights, cheerios scattering every surface, and counting down the moments until my husband was home to provide backup. Raising little people, while balancing work, keeping up the house, and trying to maintain some sense of self was tremendously hard. I felt a huge pressure to be constantly moving, doing, achieving, all while being incredibly present, intentional, and trying to “savor every moment” with the girls, because everyone says “It goes by SO fast.”
Amid the chaos one day, I stumbled upon a meditation app called “Simply Being.” It was ridiculously simple. One script, on repeat, at your chosen length of 2-10 minutes. “Now is the time to simply be…” I remember tears sliding down my face as I lay on the bed in the stolen moment of quiet, while the girls rested. The pressure lifted. My heart felt like it could breathe. Because I was being given permission, even being told, that all I needed to do in that moment was “be”. It was the balm that my weary soul desperately needed.
Years later, that statement still comes back to me with regularity, resonating with deep truth in moments when I need it most. If we’re honest, it’s a message we all need, an invitation our weary souls almost dare not to heed. “If I’m simply me, is that ok? If I simply exist, is that enough?” And even more terrifying, “ If I’m simply me, will you still love me?”
I recently sat with a woman, who quakingly admitted to her husband, “I’m so afraid that I’ll never be enough for you…and I so desperately want to. I want you to want me. To be happy with me. To believe I’m enough.”
Our hearts ache to simply be, to have permission to stop striving, achieving, explaining, pursuing, or trying…It’s a longing whose veins run deep into our core, feathering out into our relationships, our work, our words, our identity.
To be:
- Enough.
- Seen.
- Accepted.
- Cherished.
- Loved.
To be still.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? (*Trying to earn love, be good enough, do the right thing?) Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me – watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” – Matthew 11:28-30 The Message (* parentheses and italics added by me).
Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.”
It’s the invitation we all long for. The permission we need. Given by the One who made us and declared that we are “good.” The invitation extended by the One who took our place in the Holy Courtroom, bearing our punishment and, declaring with finality, “It is finished.”
The work is done. The strivings can cease. You can:
Rest.
Be still.
Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
Simply be.