Photo Credit: Angie McMonigal Photography
please… please.. please…
I whispered the words softly, quietly.
Please. Please. Please.
I chanted the words silently, but strongly.
As I stood in the bridal waiting room at the back of the church, ready to step out to a church filled with family and friends where my soon-to-be-husband was standing at the altar, I breathed those simple words.
Please. Please. Please.
The words were half prayer, holding a sea of emotions, hopes, and fears. Not a prayer for divine intervention, but rather, an appeal for serenity, strength, and mindfulness. As one of the most basic religious exercises, prayer has been shown to improve calmness, by strengthening brain regions that foster compassion and by calming brain regions linked to fear and anger.
And the words were also half mantra meditation, helping to calm my mind – my monkey mind, as Buddhists call it. Derived from the Sanskit word for “mind tool,” mantra meditation involves chanting a single word or phrase in order to focus the mind. Eventually the mind focuses more on the rhythm of the words, and less on the words themselves.
Please. Please. Please.
Please don’t let me trip walking down the aisle.
Please don’t let me break into uncontrollable sobbing.
Please let my husband feel as sure about this day as I am.
Please. Please. Please.
Please let this be more than just the wedding I dreamed of, but also the marriage that we both deserve.
Please make us family.
Please give me strength.
Please give us strength.
Please. Please. Please.
Please…such a simple word, but a profound word. As I chanted that simple word in sighs and whispers, the clouds of nervousness, anxiety, and worry parted. The rays of strength, confidence, hopefulness, and faith shone down.
And so, today, as we celebrate our eighth wedding anniversary, I say not one, but two, simple and profound words…Thank you.
How do you calm and focus your mind? Do you pray? Meditate? Something else?
This post is part of the weekly Photo Inspiration Challenge. Special thanks to Angie McMonigal Photography for her fabulous photos. Make sure to visit her website or facebook page.
I am Christine - pragmatic believer, faithful optimist, and hopeful romantic. Join me as I seek Grace in the everyday chaos and madness. 
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Happy 8 years!
Thank you!
Happy anniversary to one of the couples I most admire for the love, kindness and caring you show for each other.
Awww. Jay, you are too sweet. This comment made my day.
Happy anniversary! Anytime I get stressed, praying over and over again, sort of like a chant, usually helps. And if not, well, then I take a nap. HA!
Thank you. And yes, naps are crucial. Assuming I can turn my mind off long enough to fall asleep, that is!
I practice a lot of yoga. After class we chant, in Sanskrit. Both the yoga and the chant are calming. Without it I’d be a lot more crazed than I am. I agree that whatever it is for you, it’s worth discovering.
You said it – it is definitely worth some trial and error to discover what works for you.
Happy Anniversary!
Thank you so much!
Grateful for the goodness and light that comes from the two of you.
Awwww, thank you, Lisa. How sweet of you. Right back at you
Congrats on your 8 years! As for me? I will sometimes do the prayer/chant thing and sometimes I resort to some deep breaths.
Thanks! I think I need to give deep breathing mediation a try. I keep meaning to but…
Aw Happy Anniversary! “Please please please” sounds like a good chant, I may use it sometime.
Thank you!!! “Please” just seems to cover a whole universe of emotions and meanings.
Yes, I pray. And I believe. Happy Anniversary! The prayers really are about the marriage, aren’t they? Maintaining that makes the wedding seem like a piece of cake. Ellen
Thank you! And yes, all of the things that I let bother me in the wedding planning process seem so trivial now.
Congrats on 8 years, and also for what I assume was a drama-free wedding ceremony.
I don’t say any specific words, but I do like to take deep breaths. It almost always helps me to calm down and think straight.
Thanks. Oh, there was certainly drama. Fortunately, none of it affected me. Just the usual drunk friend drama
I try to get my kids to do deep breaths but I’m not nearly as good as it. I guess it takes some practice, huh?
I pray and I believe. Congratulations on keeping your marriage strong and healthy. Ellen
Happy Anniversary! Seems like the pleases worked!
I’m a word repeater as well. The power of words is amazing to me. Even reading this, reading the repetition of your “pleases” was calming in some way.
Happy Anniversary!
Christine, happy anniversary!!!
Christ is the Prince of Peace. Cast all your cares unto Him.
Happy Anniversary. I loved the simplicity. God knows what we need and so often we feel like we need to be verbose and go into detail.
WG
Happy anniversary, many more! I chant too. Helps me not scream
Happy anniversary!
hope you have a wonderful anniversary celebration! i find myself whispering please more often than i expect and more often than i expect, that request is answered!
That is great! I agree. The beauty of the word “please” is that it can cover so many things.
Happy anniversary! I do pray. Though sometimes I’m too exhausted to get out anything but “Help.”
Happy eight years of marriage!
Thanks!
How very sweet. I’ve been married six happy years but still feel the butterflies in the stomach when my husband walks in the door from work. Happy anniversary and may you have many more.
Awww, that’s so sweet. Thank you.
Today is my anniversary! Congratulations!
During my wedding day, I had terrible morning sickness (yep, it was one of those) so all I could think of was, “Please, don’t throw up during the ceremony.”
Happy anniversary to you! How funny! Your comment totally made me smile.
Thanks for the link to my monkey mind post! So glad you liked it! I’m looking forward to reading through your blog!
You are very welcome. I am thoroughly enjoying your site.
SUCH a beautiful post!!! I had a fraction of a second, just before my parents gave me away, where I worried I would break into the ugly cry. I thought to myself, “No. Stop. Be in the moment. Enjoy.” And the tears melted away.
How sweet. So great you could be in the moment.
Happy Anniversary to you two! Yes, I pray. Not sure what I would do without it, really.
Happy anniversary!!
Oh I adore this take on “please and thank you.” Wonderful. And congrats on eight years!
Thank you. Its hard to believe it has been that long already. I wondering if I’ll feel the same at 18 years, 28, etc.
Oh, this is beautiful. Thank you! (-:
Aww, thank YOU!
This is so lovely, and i do believe your prayer worked! Happy anniversary!
You bet it did! And it continues to.
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