Slower.
Slowing down.
Taking a moment to be silent.
And still.
Take thirty seconds to be silent.
(30 second pause. . .)
What did you hear?
I hear my breath, rising and falling. I hear a few early morning chirps outside my window. A slight hum of cars off in the distance.
Mostly, I hear peace.
***
Enjoy another 20 seconds of nothing… just soak.
Take in a moment.
Just rest.
Reading slower.
Relishing the words like a meal…
Letting your breath rise and fall.
For just one more moment.
(20 second pause. . . )
What did you feel?
I felt my shoulders relax.
I felt my body sink into my writing space.
I savored the smell of the morning coffee mingling with the sounds of my neighborhood waking up.
Mostly, I felt peace.
***
Slow is the new fast.
For creatives, slowing down and breathing in a few moments awakens awareness hidden under a self-made quilt of busyness.
Taking just a moment (or two, or three) to rest, relish and relax often creates creative momentum busyness would never disclose.
Dare: take one minute to just rest and become aware. What did you experience?
“Slow is the new fast” 🙂 For some reason that cracked me up.
Thanks for making me stop. For some reason when you read it in a post you HAVE to do it, so I did. I stopped, in my busyness, and listened, and loosened up, and it felt… awesome. It’s weird how much I block out and am not aware of when I’m “getting work done.”
Slowing down is important- could always use more of it!
It helped me too… but now I feel like I’m in a bit of overdrive… maybe I should read it again huh?
Good stuff Andrew. I breathed in beautiful aroma of coffee and began to realize how disorganized my office is. I need to clean a bit!
I need to slow down and get that guest post to you Jim!!!
On April 9, I am taking the entire day to be slow. I’m looking forward to it and seeing what “creative” juice flows from it.
Cool. Let us know how it goes on your blog.
It’s funny, but I experienced agitation and restlessness. My mind was racing. I actually only did 55 seconds of “slow”. Seriously, I think I’ve been in overdrive for too long. I have to learn to relax. How crazy is that? Thanks Andrew. I know what I’m doing this weekend!
May your weekend be magically delicious.
I struggle deeply with this. I can’t shut off my thoughts. The more I think about NOT thinking about anything, the more I can’t concentrate on keeping my mind clear.
It’s like when I’m at meetings at work…I think how inappropriate it would be to think about something that would make me laugh, so my mind races to something funny.
Last year I had a cardiac work-up which included a stress test and echocardiogram following an anxiety attack. The doctor went over the results and told me (and I quote) “you don’t need a cardiologist, you need a shrink.”
That about sums it up. Sorry I epic failed this exercise!
Then this is exactly what you need to do. . . maybe?
You’re a busy man… I’m sure stealing a moment or two of quiet is hard to make happen… but super important.
This is such a great and needed reminder. Taking time to slow down is so important. I also believe taking time to think is a must for leaders/ creators.
Great post and reminder to take in each moment. Learning to let go of everything we hold on to can really free up space to welcome in the creativity and PEACE.
Been doing this more lately-no excuses. I actually sit with paper & pen and record what God speaks as I (finally) listen and stop asking. The peace is astounding. My entire day is flooded with a grateful perspective and “restful” activities despite the rush of the day.