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Exercising Serenity

Exercising Serenity

While running late for work this week, I waited too long to leave the house and was at the mercy of commuter traffic while trying to turn left onto the highway. After waiting 10 minutes for what normally would take 10 seconds, I put the car in reverse and proceeded to take the scenic route to work. It’s a longer route by both miles and minutes, but given the consistent forward motion, it has the perception of getting me to work faster than waiting at a stop sign. The route crosses through farm country on a southern loop toward town, and on a day with unseasonably warm temperatures for winter, the blue sky and empty roads created welcome serenity after a morning begun with frustration. That is, until I rounded a corner to see an impediment to the flow of traffic present in the likeness of three escaped calves.

serenity simple calf adventure serendipityThe three wayward calves had escaped their enclosure and were making a break for it down the center of a two-lane rural highway with a sheriff’s deputy squad car following as their parade escort. Obviously prior to my approach, someone called law enforcement to report the elusive bovine, and the deputy arrived to flash his lights and warn approaching drivers while simultaneously trying to encourage the calves to move to the side of the road. Modern day cowboy maneuvers, courtesy of the Boone County Sheriffs Department.

The calves did eventually move off the roadway and allow the four waiting cars to pass, and in their excitement to be near the rest of their herd again, they ran along the fence line, looking for a way to reenter. The jubilant jumping and kicking that ensued on this side of the fence was only surpassed by the gathering of the herd on the other side of the fence, who seemed to be cheering on their three littlest members. Nothing can bring a smile so quickly as watching a young calf jumping and kicking just for the sheer joy of it.

We should all be so consumed with joy.

While the detour on my commute was borne out of frustration, the ensuing moments worked like a miracle cure. These are the moments, these moments of serenity found in unlikely places, that exercise our resilience muscles and strengthen them for future trials. In seconds, I was transformed from agitated to blissful by means of a band of rebel calves and a breach in a fence.

Resilience is one of the most necessary traits to cultivate for a good life, and yet may be the least exercised of all our muscles. Just as a healthy and strong physical self rebounds from injury and illness more quickly and effectively, so does the non-physical self. That essence of who we are – that mixture of mental, emotional, and spiritual health – also benefits from workouts and healthy fuel. It is that healthy lifestyle for the non-physical self that will support us when the road of life gets bumpy. And it will get bumpy. Or seismic. Or cataclysmically upturned.

Storing away all the small moments of joy, however, is a way to exercise the serenity muscle, the one that brings us back to center when we feel off balanced. Much like the antics of Frank Costanza in Seinfeld, trying to infuse serenity into a moment where no strong serenity muscles exist, becomes only a string of meaningless words with opposite results.

Like anything in life, if one does not embrace the effort wholeheartedly, not only is the result less than desired, it proves our efforts to be anemic. In short, you can’t ever run the race unless you exercise the physical muscles needed for running, and you can’t ever find serenity unless you exercise the non-physical muscles needed for serenity. It’s all connected, baby.

Life can be incredibly unfair. It can break your heart. Some days it will make you wonder why you woke up in the morning. But given the routine exercise of finding serentiy in the simple moments of life, the time spent sobbing in a fetal position on the floor after a rough day will be minimal. In those moments, the strong muscles you’ve exercised while storing away the good days, will flex themselves and work like a salve on your wounds to remind you of the day when you were a part of the pure joy of three wayward calves on their first adventure.

Rita Herrmann lives in the Ozark Mountains with her two dogs and Netflix subscription. A lifelong writer, she's learned to draw deep thoughts from the simplest of observations. Through her work on She Wears Red Shoes, she inspires others to be the best version of themselves, even though she often eats too much chocolate. A good road trip with a great playlist is how she rolls. Her core beliefs include dancing spontaneously, singing randomly, laughing often, living simply, and learning to forgive.

6 thoughts on “Exercising Serenity

  1. LOVE your writing, Rita! Your visual of those little calves joyfully jumping and running along the fence put a smile on my face and a new resolve to pay closer attention to those magical moments that we happen upon.

    1. Ellen! So glad you are here! Thank you for your comment 🙂 These little guys (or gals) walked for quite awhile down the center of the road, blocking traffic for a good amount of time. And they could not have cared less. If THAT’S not enjoying the moment, I don’t know what is.

  2. Oh serendipity there you are again 🙂 Now I understand why I am reading this today and not a few days ago… it’s because I needed to be reading it TODAY and I needed to be reminded of it TODAY! Thank you Rita. I’ve had a looong week and have been feeling rather derailed. Time I exercised those muscles and it starts with me getting a decent nights sleep! Happy happy Thursday to you and nite nite to me 😉 xoxo

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"The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking places."
Will Rogers