Do you ever wish you had more time to “smell the roses”?
Every day I allow myself “slow time”; even if it is only a few minutes …
Here are some slow suggestions
- Take nothing for granted: watch water flow, the flowers grow, the leaves blow, your neighbor mow.
- Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there. Each moment has richness that takes a lifetime to savor.
- Set your own pace. When someone is pushing you, it’s OK to tell them they’re pushing.
- Taste your food. Practice midful eating
- Notice the sun and the moon and the stars. They are remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed. Every morning I see the morning star out to the east
- When you talk with someone, don’t think about what you’ll say next. Listen to what they are saying. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you let them.
- Talk and play with children. It will bring out the unhurried little person inside you.
- Create a place in your home … at your work … in your heart … where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it.
- Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn’t luxury; it’s a necessity.
- Listen to the wind blow. The sound of wind in the trees has such “voice”
- Rest on your laurels. They bring comfort whatever their size, age, or condition.
- Talk slower. Talk less. Don’t talk. Communication isn’t measured by words.
- Listen to the song of a bird; the complete song. Music and nature are gifts, but only if you are willing to receive them.
- Take time just to think. Action is good and necessary, but it’s fruitful only if we muse, ponder, and mull; aren’t these beautiful words
- Learn to stand back and let others take their turn as leaders. There will always be new opportunities for you to step out in front, again.
- Divide big jobs into little jobs. Those big jobs seem daunting; make it easier for yourself
- When you find yourself rushing and anxious, stop. Ask yourself “WHY?” are you rushing and anxious. The reasons may improve your self-understanding.
- Take time to read. Thoughtful reading is enriching reading.
- Direct your life with purposeful choices, not with speed and efficiency. The best musician is one who plays with expression and meaning, not the one who finishes first.
- Take a day off alone; make a retreat. You can learn from monks and hermits without becoming one.
- Pet a furry friend. You will give and get the gift of now.
- Work with your hands. It frees the mind.
- Take time to wonder. Without wonder, life is merely existence.
- Sit in the dark. It will teach you to see and hear, taste and smell.
- Count your friends. If you have one, you are lucky. If you have more, you are blessed. Bless them in return.
- Count your blessings – one at a time and slowly.