Slow Dowwwn
Slow Dowwwwn
Slow Dowwwwwn
Have you noticed that the past few years have steadily brought us into fast mode?
Scrolling, watching, consuming.
Grinding, hustling, winning.
At some point we have to slow down.
A man stopped me once, as I got off of the train after a 3 hour trip to Geneva. I was rushing by in my own thoughts, preparing for the next place I wanted to be. I was in ´Go Go Go´mode.
He said something along the lines of, `You are very lucky. Very blessed. But if you go through life quickly, you will be finished with life quickly. Quickly in and quickly out.´
Mind you, I felt really energetic and charged with vitality during that phase of my life. I had made bold moves in my life - I had just separated from a 10 year marriage. I was looking for my first solo apartment in Switzerland. And on that very day, I was returning from a job interview I had had 3 hours away.
I was pumped!
I wanted to catch up with everything I had felt like I had missed out on.
But yet, on this particular day I was coming back from a long train ride. (I love long train rides, especially through the Swiss landscape.) During this trip I had encountered a homeless woman, with twinkling eyes, who was traveling with her yoga mat. My attention was brought to her. I ended up changing trains at one point, and realised that once again, we were both on the same train and same carriage. I vaguely remember sharing some of my food with her.
It was a beautiful interaction of few words, yet very special.
Leaving that train to take my direct one homewards, I walked quickly through the halls of the main station. At some point I glanced down at my shoulder and noticed a bumble bee. It was just snuggled onto my jacket. Chillin.
`That´s weird,` I thought. `I´ve just been riding trains for the last few hours, and here is this bumble bee riding along with me!´
How long had it been there?
When did it join my journey?
The strangeness (or if you think like me - the magicalness) of these 2 experiences, had me questioning and relflecting on what it was that I was meant to pay attention to.
What is the message for me?
30 minutes later, I arrived at the train station in my town. I walked out of the train and rushed quickly to catch the bus that would take me closer to home, when I was stopped by the gentleman who had a message for me - `You are very lucky. Very blessed. But if you go through life quickly, you will be finished with life quickly. Quickly in and quickly out.´
This day and its´experiences occured about 5-6 years ago. Yet they still stand out in my memory of little nudges that I´m meant to learn from.
Life has gotten faster for many of us. And it´s oftentimes rewarded to be faster and faster and faster. By our day jobs and bosses, by our own internal voices that tell us to go faster, by our inner push that urges us to hustle to succeed.
But where is it all going to get us in the end, if we end up grinding to hustle and win, to only cap it all off with quickly being finished?
When do we remember that it is the journey which we were meant to enjoy the most? It is the journey that offers us glimpses of joyful moments to share and enjoy, which we are given the choice to cherish for many years to come!
This is a small reminder to Slow Down. It is imperative I believe to our states of well being.
When I think about the last time I sat in a magnolia tree to read a book, in the company of my little black cat named Eve - I realise I was 13! That was such a long time ago. It was also a time in life when I would often sit on the edge of the forest and just be in the moment, connecting to the land, the trees, the stones, and the native brothers and sisters who lived there before me.
I have felt the most whole and nourished when I have slowed down in life.
Even as a Soulpreneur/Entrepreneur, we often feel the outer pressure to follow along the lines of grinding, hustling, and pushing harder. But let me tell you, my clients are able to connect more to me, and I more to them, when I have slowed down. And it is probably the same for you too.
As a mother, my kids are able to receive more from me when I have slowed down. When I am in hustle mode, I´m honestly not in the best Mama mode.
I commit to slowing down more often and being more present in the moments which I am in...Now. For my highest good and for the highest good of those around me and who I interact with.
Here´s to Slowing Down!
Have you noticed areas where you could slow down in your life? How do you think slowing down more will help you?
P.S.
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