Precious pauses

Did you receive this beautiful message shared lately in FB? Allow me to share this with you here:

"Practice the pause. When in doubt, pause. When angry, pause. When tired, pause.When stressed, pause. And when you pause, pray."

That is exactly what the international choir of the Tsukuba Catholic Church did last Sunday. After the 8a.m mass, all proceeded  to have a happy celebration at the Yukari no Mori in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture in Japan.

This is a forest area with certain spaces reserved for public use, for public gatherings. There is a barbecue area, complete with utensils and charcoal for rent and for sale, respectively. There is also a minimum entrance fee for all, children and adults. Reservations are accepted and the users are allowed to use the barbecue area from 10am-3pm, then another batch is allowed to use the area from 3pm up.

Everyone is expected to clean up afterwards, of course. There is also an open pit for all used charcoal to be placed for safety purposes after the gatherings.

Visitors who do not avail of the barbecue area can enjoy the other areas within the public forest. There is a simple museum and children's playground.

Of course, one can just simply smell the fresh air and enjoy walking through the forest!

The Tsukuba Church choir members joyfully bonded, amidst laughter, food, and of course, music! For sure, those who joined that Sunday barbecue party remembered the 4 Rs for a happy life that day.: RELEASE- the regrets of yesterday, REFUSE-the worries of tomorrow, RECEIVE-the gifts of the present day, and, REMAIN- in God's presence!

Renewed and energized, for sure, every choir member will go through this week with fond memories of that precious pause last Sunday!

What about you? Do you find time to take your precious pauses? We certainly hope so!

The day care center staff in our neighborhood also took their ward to pause from their daily routine within the center and to enjoy the nearby beautiful parks!

Each staff took care of one group of children (identified by the color of their cute caps)!

There are several public parks in our neighborhood to choose from. The day care center groups decided to go to one where the children could enjoy watching one goose and more than 20 ducklings wading through a quiet pond in the middle of this park. The children could also climb up and down a hill or just enjoy games in the open field in the park. The park is lined with gingko and maple trees, with leaves now changing their colors this time of the year. The laughter and joy of the children brought smiles to other passers-by and joggers in that park that morning. Taking pause to just admire the beauty of nature- the sights, the colors, the various scents and fragrances, the varying sounds - are such precious moments that allow us to worship, to renew our strength for yet another day, to inspire us to move on joyfully, gratefully to serve God and His people in return for His beautiful creation He continues to share  with us all through all our days.

Enjoy your precious pauses and let us remember to take more of those precious pauses from now on.