Blessed Calm

The author of this poem had the blessed grace of a sister who had a comforting, calm demeanor. Such a demeanor can be associated with inner strength, wisdom, and peace in the heart. The gift of calm in people draws others to them because it is welcoming without expectations, soothing without judgments, and usually free from drama or sensationalism. Staying calm, even in the midst of trouble, is a beautiful trait that allows for clear thinking and sound decision making. It is health enhancing by promoting a composed and relaxed manner of behavior. As a personality characteristic it can manifest a respectful, thoughtful, compassionate individual.  

Calmness is noticeable through soft whispers that hold unexpected wisdom. Perhaps the clarification of or solution to a problem emerges. If we move in a slow steady pace, we notice beauty in the here and now. If we whiz by in the fast lane, with our eyes focused on the next thing to do, we miss many blessings. Calm brings a confidence and pleasantness unknown to those who are involved in non stop activities. In quiet times, pondering different aspects of a troubling situation causes something to blossom for those who can sit and watch with an unhurried ease. Peace settles in when chaos and inconsequential distractions fade. When we are calm, we can comprehend issues more clearly, and recognize facts from fiction or opinion. Endurance becomes stronger as life becomes simpler. Endurance helps stabilize and motivate us through the vicissitudes of life.

Sometimes God calms our storms, other times he lets the storms rage and calms us. Either way, he helps us. He calms us down and brings us through one day at a time. Each day God fed the Israelites in the wilderness by sending manna from heaven. The number of people in each family determined the amount of manna they received. God let them collect enough for each day. When we pray we often say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Yet, we remain concerned about many things. Using the gift of saying time honored repetitive prayers, such as the rosary, chaplet of mercy or litanies, can calm our concerns which lead to strengthening our trust in God. A directive for calmness is to trust God for today and leave tomorrow in his hands.

When we are calm, we can attend to the deeper realities of life. We connect with elements higher than ourselves. An inner calm enhances our ability to receive, and reflect on, profound thoughts about God that help us live a transformed life. We must be calm in order to recognize and absorb God as an unequivocal mystery. Unlike things we can talk about or figure out, mysteries are essentially unknown. We know fragments about God’s beauty, wisdom, truth, and love but cannot fully articulate them. A tranquil nature helps us accept mystery. G.K. Chesterton said a mystery is “at once too obscure to be explained and too obvious to be explained away, like the sun.” Because a mystery is beyond evidence and clarity, it leads us into a quiet calm. We find mysterious beauty in God if we decrease looking for signs of communication from him, are more conscious of our communion with him, and are at peace with his unhurried work in us. We try to stand still before God in order to become more responsive to his reality.  

Gentleness

A primary feature of calm is gentleness. Who is the gentlest woman in the history of humankind? She is Mary, the mother of God.  Supported by exceptional graces, she weathered the greatest of life’s storms because she kept her focus on God and his plan. Amid trials experienced by no other person, she remained gentle of heart.  Words from a beloved hymn bring to mind her to whom we pray for gentleness in our heart: “Gentle woman, quiet light, morning star so strong and bright, gentle mother peaceful dove, teach us wisdom; teach us love.” (Carey Landry) We sorely need wisdom and love since gentleness appears to be a lost art today. Mary is here to teach us. We should not hesitate to ask for her help. 

Mary’s gentleness radiated from her inner beauty. She lived Peter’s words, as we all should. 1 Peter 3:4 reminds us, “Instead, it (your adornments) should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is of great worth in God’s sight.” This verse stresses the importance of having an inner calm and gentle spirit which is more important than outward appearances or a charming personality. 

A primary way to live worthily in God’s sight is by gentle interactions with others. John Vianney said, “A young village girl told me ‘When I am about to talk to anyone, I picture to myself Jesus Christ and how gracious and friendly he was to everyone.’” Without us being aware of it, our presence should positively affect those around us. A gentle demeanor unites and uplifts others. John Vianney continues: “We love God truly in so far as, when finding ourselves with people who differ from us, we behave graciously to them, speak charitably of them, are willing to meet them again, and to do them a kindness.” Elihu Burritt advises where to start being gentle: “I would say to all: Use your gentlest voice at home. Watch it day by day as a pearl of great price; for it will be worth more to you in days to come than the best pearl hid in the sea. A kind voice is joy, like a lark’s song, to a hearth at home. Train it to sweet tones now, and it will keep in tune through life.” Kindnesses offered gently are treasures to behold.

Today, in times of trouble or tranquility, it is a grace, honor, and privilege to know a person with a gentle soul. That person has the ability to soothe ruffled feelings, calm jangled nerves, and bolster a drooping spirit. He or she is a refuge in times of trial, a safe haven in times of fear, a trustworthy shelter for our hopes and dreams, and a sanctuary when all seems lost.   

A person with a gentle soul reveals the futility of worrying. Worry does not help or benefit a situation and agitates our sense of calm. It serves no useful purpose. Corrie ten Boom said, “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow, it empties today of its strength.” A story may help us to put worry in the right perspective. A wife, mother and CEO drove into her driveway at the end of a long work day. She had many concerns and troubles. A flat tire made her late for a meeting. Her secretary quit. Coworkers were bringing their troubles to her all afternoon. And now her car had an annoying sound in the engine. As she walked toward the back door of her home, she paused at a small tree. She touched the tips of the branches with both hands. After opening the back door, she underwent an amazing transformation. She had a smile on her face. She embraced her husband and kindly greeted her three small children. What happened? What was that mysterious action with the tree? The CEO would tell us that the tree was her worry tree. She knew she could not help having worrisome troubles on the job. What mattered was that those troubles and their consequent worry did not belong in her house with her husband and children. So she just hung them on the tree every night when she came home. Then in the morning, she picked them up. However, the funny thing was that when she came out in the morning to pick them up, there were not as many as she remembered hanging up on the tree the night before.  

It is good to remember Padre Pio’s often quoted saying, “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.” Worry is like rust on a blade. The rust ruins the gleam and dulls the sharpness of the blade. Worry gives small or imagined things big shadows. A shadow is a dark place where negatives can develop. If we stand in the light, we do not trouble till trouble troubles us. It is human to worry now and then, but a reduction of worry is very healthy thing to do.

Since calm is vital to living a healthy life at any age, we must recognize its goodness and practice it. Many suggestions are available to calm down. Essentially calm can be acquired through self control, discipline and accepting circumstances we cannot change. When we live in God’s love, and put him first in our lives, we know the strength, and rest in the tranquility, of prayer: