This past week I’ve spent more time sitting in the rocking chair in my house.
Ever since I was a child, I have always loved rocking chairs.
We used to stay at a little cottage by the beach for vacations. To the left as we walked in the door was a rocking chair by the fire that my three brothers and I loved to sit in. When we were little we tried to fit in the chair two at a time, or see who could make it rock back and forth the longest.
As we got older and bigger we had to learn to share. It made the moments of sitting alone in the rocking chair by the fire especially meaningful and peaceful.
Throughout my life, seeing a rocking chair on a porch, in someone’s home, or at an antique store has brought me reminders of the peace in the little cottage by the beach.
To feel that peace, if only for a moment, seems foreign these days. It’s almost too good to be true. And yet, it’s what we are all longing for, whether we know it or not.
Have you felt this peace?
The rocking chair has many who claim to be the inventor of such a wonderful piece of furniture. The most notable is Benjamin Franklin, but most experts agree that it was invented in the 18th century in North America.
The chair itself has changed stylistically over the years. From more intricate designs to something more sleek or practical, the one thing that remains true is the rocking chair’s ability to help us pause and reflect.
On my wedding day, my husband gave a rocking chair, and it’s probably one of the best presents I’ve ever received.
It’s an antique, which fits my love for vintage things. The paint used to be chipped, showing the dark wood beneath it until my dad painted over it with a few coats of white paint. I often wonder how old it is or who it belonged to before me.
Currently, it lives in my daughter’s room. She sits on my lap and I rock with her as we read books and settle down for bed. The chair creaks and groans its own soothing melody as our eyes blink and get heavy.
Someday my girl will be big enough to sit in it by herself and rock back and forth. Though I will always be nostalgic for the days when I rocked her to sleep, I will be glad that she, too, will discover the joy of tapping her toes as they touch the ground, keeping the steady rhythm as she rocks and sways.
She will learn that the natural relaxation of swaying back and forth is a kind of calm no other piece of furniture can offer.
And hopefully, she will discover the peace that comes from the seemingly insignificant rocking chair. The power it has in a simple movement as it rocks back and forth.
So, why do I think everyone should buy a rocking chair?
To rediscover the peace it can bring you.
If we all had the opportunity to revel in this peace, I wonder how life might be different.
The world might move just a little bit slower.
Our minds would think a little bit deeper.
Our bodies would rest a little bit longer.
Maybe it seems naïve or foolish, but then again, do you own a rocking chair?
If not, buy one. Let me know how it goes.
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