I’m trying to slow down.

I’m increasingly finding myself annoyed with our “I’m so busy” culture.  It’s not the fact that people are busy, that I understand–it’s wearing “busy” like a badge of honor that I’m reacting to.  Why do we do this?

When I’m moving too fast I know I’m more reactive (ask my three teenagers). I don’t make great decisions (or I’m paralyzed to make them at all) and I don’t like the way I feel.  My skin just doesn’t fit.  I don’t like it. I don’t like it one bit.

Last week I was at the grocery store and I was moving so fast that the cashier said, “You must be on your lunch hour, are you in a really big hurry?”  It really struck me that I was behaving that way.  I wasn’t in a hurry at all.  I was actually moving so quickly that I was making someone else uncomfortable.  This encounter has really stayed with me.

When I slow myself down—I like myself better and I can see things more clearly. 

There is always time to take a single breath, or close our eyes even for a second.

When I took this picture today in my studio I was moving frantically.  I then shot the same image after I took a breath and steadied myself.  These images tell very different stories, don’t they?  I’m not saying I’ll never move too quickly, of course I will. However, when I have the awareness I’ll try to slow myself down and see what happens.

I’m hardly a ZEN MASTER.  I’m just trying.

desk out of focus

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3 thoughts on “I’m trying to slow down.

  1. Lisa hi!
    There is a saying that we should “Always give a job to a busy person”, intimating that a ‘Busy person’ is a more reliable choice to get the work done.
    Well… Phoeee!
    I don’t believe that for one minute. You are quite right to slow yourself down and enjoy the process.
    I have always given high regard to the person willing to delegate and ‘Un-busy’ themselves. If a job is with doing it is worth getting someone else to undertake it.
    In this new world of “Mindfulness” being the buzz movement, we may all be stopping for a smoko more often.
    Cheers.B

    • Thank you for your comment. I’m really finding that the clarity and sanity that comes from slowing down far outweighs the validation of being sooooo busy or stating how busy I am to others.

      Oh, I haven’t heard the term smoko for a long time. It was a ritual I loved when I lived in Auckland. Thank you for the memory.

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