Slowing Down When the World Speeds Up…
“Shifting the mind into lower gear can bring better health, inner calm, enhanced concentration and the ability to think more creatively.” —Carl Honoré
With outside noise saying things like, “the race to the finish of the election,” “the holiday season rush is upon us”, and how “rapidly the year is coming to a close,” it can be easy to get caught up in rushing towards some finish line.
Yet, I find self-preservation leads me to respond to this noise by slowing down.
“When you want to hurry something, that means you no longer care about it
and want to get on to other things.”
—Robert M. Pirsig
Are you feeling rushed in any area of your life? Perhaps challenged by a real or imaginary deadline. Or is your mind racing from one thought to the next, anxious about the future? How might slowing down — even if it feels uncomfortable to do so — offer you an opportunity bring your best self to the task at hand?
Maybe the ‘task’ is work related or maybe the task is fully living and experiencing the beauty of fall. Regardless of the task in front of you, slowing down can offer you the best chance at successfully focusing on and completing the experiences or tasks that matter most to you.
May you be blessed with delightful outcomes these remaining days of 2024 by slowing down to savor the task at hand.
What Matters Most
“The things that matter most should never be at the mercy of the things that matter least.”
— Goethe
Nature’s Wisdom…
“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished.”
—Lao Tzu
Today
Today I’m flying low and I’m
not saying a word
I’m letting all the voodoos of ambition sleep.
The world goes on as it must,
the bees in the garden rumbling a little,
the fish leaping, the gnats getting eaten.
And so forth.
But I’m taking the day off.
Quiet as a feather.
I hardly move though really I’m traveling
a terrific distance.
Stillness. One of the doors
into the temple.
—Mary Oliver, from A Thousand Mornings: Poems by Mary Oliver
