I just did it. I just stopped the flurry of emails, texts, to-do lists, online Christmas shopping, headline hopping, article skimming circus that is my brain on Monday morning. 

I took three minutes and unplugged. 

Closed my screen. 

Closed my eyes. 

I reminded myself that if I want to get better at doing (and we all should) I have to get better at being. 

Being starts with breathing. 

It was the first thing we did when we entered life outside the womb, and it will be the last thing we do when we enter eternity. This isn’t intended to be a theological treatise on the science of silence. The science and spiritual benefits are undeniable. It does wonders for your mind and body.  

This is an invitation to stop reading about it and start practicing it. 

In just three minutes, the circus can slow down. The mental chatter and clatter that seems like static can turn to softly falling snow on the soil of your soul. 

Take a break. Take a breath. 

In fact, take three minutes worth of long, slow ones. If the circus soundtrack starts playing again, that’s ok, just bring your thoughts back to your breath and think about this, “Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  Genesis 2:7

I think the words of Mother Theresa are very appropriate for us this Advent: “Let us approach Christmas with an expectant hush, rather than a last minute rush.” If you’re like me, you’re already feeling the dream of a slow, peaceful holiday turn into a nightmare of frantic frenzy. It doesn’t have to be that way.

Commit to hitting pause at least twice during your day between now and Christmas. Set an alarm if you have to. That’s only two times a day that you don’t waste three minutes of mindlessly scrolling Instagram. The result? Your restless rush just may settle into an expectant hush. 

Cameron Walker