Welcome a new pace of living

It’s time to slow down, Dear One…

It’s time, and it’s up to us. It all starts with the mamas. Our children are watching, as they get hurried about in the current of one overly-scheduled day after the next.

They see. They watch everything we do and how we do it. They hear. They observe how we react and how we settle down. They know. They witness what we prioritize. And they mirror.

Our children are here to show us the way. But it’s up to us if we can allow ourselves to observe their quiet guidance. If we can slow down enough to stop and listen to their little beings… to hear the messages within their pauses… and to look into their sweet eyes and let them be seen - not because of something they’ve done, but simply for being.

Or to remain looped in the same cycle of everyday “busyness” we’ve always known.

It’s time to open to the idea of proceeding gently. Of stepping forward gingerly - slowly - mindfully. Many times, we default to a quickened pace. A destination-orientation that seems to pull us forward like a force field - ignoring and even blocking out details of the journey from our awareness. All we see is the end point - the goal - and we fail to glance down to take in the path we are moving along.

It’s time to practice going slowly. Many times, rushing is easier and comes more naturally for us. “Gently” can feel like a waste of time - an inefficient progression towards our well-crafted goals. “Slowly” can feel boring - an opportunity to surely be maximized and improved. Why go slowly if we can go quickly?

We are being reminded that there is another way. Many times, it arrives in the form of an illness or accident that forces us to downshift - perhaps even to pause - and to proceed forward gingerly. Slowly. Gently. And then once we’ve recovered, we launch right back to our previously-assumed, quickened pace of existence. Details and delicacies of a simple, every day life a mere blur in our sprint to the finish line.

What if we chose to proactively decrease our pace of living? Rather than needing to slow things down, what if we decided to slow things down?

What if we chose to observe the details along the way? Rather than locking eyes exclusively on our targeted-goal, what if we decided to share our attention with the steps on the path? The little moments. The simple happenings. The easily-overlooked daily details.

What if we chose to enjoy this life? Rather than living for the milestones, what if we decided to orient our minds to quartermile-stones? Mini-stones? Moment-stones?

This is your life. Right here, right now. And you can choose to enjoy it - no matter what you’ve accomplished or what you haven’t. It’s not up to anyone else to influence your enjoyment of this journey. And when your enjoyment is lacking, it’s not something you can blame another for or push responsibility to someone else - it is only yours. The power is yours. It is in your hands. The choice is yours - it always is and it always will be.

No matter what you’ve done or what you haven’t, you can enjoy this moment.

No matter what you’ve done or what you haven’t, you can allow yourself to rest.

No matter what you’ve done or what you haven’t, you can progress more slowly.

You can take in your moment. Stop and look around. Pause and breathe it in. Smile and appreciate it.

You have the power to pause.

You have the power to proceed with intention.

You have the power to find your calm.

You have the power to choose how you react.

And you have the power to prioritize the care and practices that enable, strengthen, and support you.

We must.

There is life to be lived in the everyday ordinary. There is contentment to be discovered in the unscheduled. There is utter enjoyment nestled within small, gentle steps forward.

It’s time to welcome the depths of our life to unfold before us - in the simple, ordinary, everyday moments. In the “mini-stones” rather than the milestones.

To do any of this, and to even make the space to consider it, we must slow down. We must practice the pause. We must make space in our days, in our lives, and in our beings. Room to breathe, room to observe, room to be, and room to enjoy.

It’s time. If not for ourselves, then for them.

It all starts with the mamas.

Let’s do this, mama.