It's Tuesday at 2:00pm! (PST Time: I live and work from Southern California)
All of our past posts have been placed HERE if you want to go back and read one.
One month ago, February 18th, I shared this post on "slowing down". CLICK HERE to read it.
Think of all that has happened over the past 4 weeks as the entire world has been in a process of change. For some, this has been panic and desperation, for others it's been a forced shift to home and being grounded.
This morning, I picked up this book again, "The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry" (John Mark Comer) and read the chapter on "slowing" again.
This is new territory for me. While I've enjoyed moments of adjusting my schedule to capture some stillness, I've never experienced a forced slow down like the one we're all experiencing now. My natural reaction is to try to fill my time, find new ways to work my schedule, and continue my never-ending pursuit of productivity.
Today, I'm thinking about slowing down again.
Comer says this:
"The basic idea behind the practice of slowing is this: slow down your body, slow down your life."
He goes on to say that its difficult for us to slow down our minds if our body is still running at full pace. There's a correlation between the two, and we need to slow down both
Comer goes on to share 20 ideas for how we can intentionally slow down our lives both physically and mentally, and while many of these ideas are to be incorporated into our normal everyday lives, our "normal" is new today.
Here are a couple you can practice today:
#9) Parent your phone: Put it to bed before you and make it sleep in.
The idea is to put your phone away before you go to sleep. Have some time both at night and in the morning where you're not tethered to your phone.
#13) Kill your TV
People are taking this opportunity to binge watch shows and movies that they've missed. Don't spend all of your time watching TV. Set a limit on the amount of time you'll spend watching TV. "Our time is our life, and our attention is the doorway to our hearts." John Mark Comer
#15) Walk slower
"Force yourself to move through the world at a relaxed pace" John Mark Comer
#17) Take up journaling
Just write down what's going on in your mind, in your heart, in your life."This slow, cathartic act of writing your life down is grounding, a tether for the soul in the hurricane of the modern world." John Mark Comer
During the day today and the days to come, find some time to SLOW DOWN.
I'm amazed at the creativity, the energy and the passion that is being shown by so many as we adapt to a new way of life during these days. There is incredible value in our resilience and our ability to still produce in spite of changes and challenges coming at us every hour, every day.
Maybe something we all need to learn during this time is how to simply SLOW DOWN. Don't miss the opportunities you have today to practice this.
My challenge today is to not simply fill my life with things that I can do while I'm being forced to adjust my schedule. I want to also, in the midst of the work I can do, find time to slow down and breathe a little deeper, a little longer, and a little more intentionally. What an opportunity each of us has today!
"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates
"Our time is our life, and our attention is the doorway to our hearts." John Mark Comer
"In all the chaos and hurry, do not forget to notice the beauty and miracle of this world. Slow down. Notice. Observe. Be aware. Allow presence and awe to come back into your life." Brendon Burchard
To read the previous posts CLICK HERE
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or comment on the blog post HERE