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Monday, November 9, 2009

Get Slow

Who doesn’t feel as if there aren’t enough hours in the day? We rush through the day, running here and
there, and end up exhausted. Somehow these days full of duties, obligations and busyness have begun to build up and become our lives. We spend our time doing things we don’t really want to do, yet feel we should. We’ve come to believe that being productive and crossing things off our to-do list is the ultimate goal.

The truth is, life on Earth is a brief gift, and our time is too precious to be used like this. If we want our lives to be balanced and healthy, we need to lessen our load and increase our down time. This means planning less in a day, prioritizing those things that make our hearts sing and de-prioritizing those things that are not imperative.

If we must accomplish many things each day, we can still change the quality with which we do things. How can we transmute that sprint to the train into something delicious instead of the usual gripping and tightening experience? Where can we find ease in the midst of stress? How can we cultivate the art of going slowly?

Take a few moments before you climb out of bed in the morning to remember your dreams and to think about what you want from the day. Leave your watch on the bedside table. Take the scenic route. Sit for a moment with your eyes closed when you start your computer. Check email only twice a day. Don’t pack your schedule so tightly that there’s no time for a short walk. Light candles before you start to cook dinner. Add one moment here and there for slowness; it can be done simply and will have a profound effect on your well-being.

Adapted from an article by Marco Visscher & Jay Walljasper, Ode Magazine, Issue #15,
www.odemagazine.com

4 comments:

Michelle @ Find Your Balance said...

Driving is making me a crazy woman. I may just leave the Prius at home and take the bus because oddly enough, I'm so much calmer when i do!

MulberryMary said...

Michelle-

Driving has been better for me lately. I used to suffer from serious road rage & I love driving fast. Now whenever I get cut off or someone does something stupid I say "bless you". It reminds me that what is important is that I am safe. It also signals to me that rushing could cut my life or someone else's life short.

I wish I was a bus person, but here in Minneapolis it is so much easier to drive.

Unknown said...

Here is a good book to read about this subject.

In Praise of Slowness: Challenging the Cult of Speed, by Carl Honore

MulberryMary said...

Matt - Thanks for the comment. I will check out the book!