I have one of those diaries that has different focuses each month and has a new quote for each day. November’s focus is “Breathe!” A topic close to my heart. I am often asking why I am travelling at the speed I am and whether it is truly necessary. So many questions. Are we going so quickly because we have bitten off more than we can chew, or is this just one of those seasons requiring less rest and more effort? Is going faster just normal in this age, and I must get with the times? I hope not. What is wise when it comes to the speed with which we move through our days? I have a certain level of instinct that alerts me when the pace is unnecessarily fast, but I have loved the wisdom that has come from so many different people quoted in my diary this month. I will share some of my favourite ones with you and maybe, together, we can rid ourselves of this relentless pressure to rush and scurry that is common to so many of us.
God made time, but man made haste. – Irish Proverb
Surely watering my plants, having a nourishing meal ready for my family, cleaning a few window panes till they sparkle, repainting an old cupboard, writing a thoughtful birthday card, teaching my little girl to tie her shoe laces and insisting everyone in the house lies down for an afternoon nap before a night out all count as productive and meaningful. Each one of those tasks seems to go against a life that is being lived at pace, however; an efficient life, you know? At least that’s what I often feel. It’s those mundane, repetitive tasks that fashion the rhythm of my day to day that get dropped when there is lots on the go. The dogs don’t get brushed, the children’s nails grow too long, I go weeks without having a single meaningful conversation, but I am trying to accomplish all kinds of other things. I behave like there are policeman hiding and setting traps and watching to see how slowly I am going so that they can fine me for it. We could squeeze another thing in if we were organised I convince myself. And as soon as I commit, I am on that ruthless hamster wheel that does not even care about me. Designed to swing from branches, dive into pools, run through wild flowers and sit on a rock watching the sun set, yet here I am, again, running on a treadmill where the view never changes, never mind inspires. The world is run by worn-out people, and our soul is often lost beneath the piles of our everyday life. – Emily P. Freeman
Sometimes I think that it is just my lot in life right now. I have to speed because I have lots of children who are enthusiastic about so many things and I am their mother so I do not have the option of resting. But I have seen enough people who haven’t even reached adulthood yet, or older men and women who have grown up children, and they are racing too. There is always something chasing like a hungry wolf and if there isn’t, there are always finish lines to cross. And the myth is that once this particular race is run, there will be rest and peace and time – maybe a long sleep and a quiet morning and a blissful spell of nothing to do. But that never happens. If you’re always racing to the next moment, what happens to the one you’re in? Slow down and enjoy the moment you’re in, and live your life to the fullest. – Nanette Mathews
All the moments of today are golden drops of time. Will we let them fall into boring black storage buckets and tip them out on the pavement or will we drink them up, swim in them and let their mysterious power impact us and those around us with each valuable tick of the clock? Will I send replies to all those harassing admin messages on my phone, or will I use the time to read stories to my little ones? Will I write notes to the people I have been thinking about recently or will I rather page through some strangers’ lives on the internet, admiring their homes and furniture? Will I read my bible and store up words of life in my heart before the day begins, or will I rather make tea, drink tea and get distracted with opening curtains and getting dressed and addressing all the myriad demands calling for my attention? Half our life is spent trying to find something to do with the time we have rushed through life trying to save. – Will Rogers. There is time; time to read stories, write notes and start the day washing myself with words that will save me, but am I choosing to spend it on those things?
Wisely and slow. They stumble that run fast. – William Shakespeare
Marshall Segal says, “We need to learn to keep a pace that is human,” and that we are not to slow down just so that we can be kinder to ourselves, but we need to “slow down so that we can love, first God and then others.” He adds, “we’re held hostage by hurry. We’ve been made to believe, by the patterns and course of this world, that hurry is a virtue. But what if hurry was actually oppressing us – distracting us, stunting us, even scheming against us?” I love the story of the hare and tortoise racing. The hare clearly has the speed genes. It’s almost a joke to consider that they could race. Whilst Speedy One darts and dashes and, cockily, takes naps, Steady One plods onwards, slow but sure. And what an unlikely winner, what a lesson to learn. It’s like moving mountains or eating elephants sometimes; the ones who take a one-day-at-a-time approach eventually get the job done. The ones who speed and overdo it, get injured or burn out along the way. I saw a picture without any words recently. Two very tall ladders of equal height were side by side. The first ladder’s rungs were spaced widely apart and the other had many more rungs. The little person trying to climb the first ladder was using huge effort to just try and reach each rung – so much energy expended on reaching each new level. The little person climbing the second ladder was not puffed out in the slightest and was able to progress to the top with ease. Maybe that is how we are living when we exhaust ourselves in our daily lives. We feel like we are putting in lots of effort and so we must be progressing, but we are actually on the very same rung. There is a lot to be said for small, steady, slow steps. So much applause and respect for a constant life; one that is filled with lots of meaningful decisions and choices that might appear, at first, to be distractions, but are actually stepping stones – extra rungs in the ladder – to get to where we are going. The pace may not appear riveting, but goals will be reached, heights attained and progress made.
I have often said or thought that I just want to live simply. What does that mean though? Does it mean we have less? It can’t because I have no sooner cleared surfaces, then I am collecting seed pods and colourful stones and more books to read to fill those empty shelves. A simple life would have also meant no children if I went with the meaning of ‘simple means less.’ This quote by an unknown author hits the nail on the head I think: “Simplicity is not about deprivation. Simplicity is about a greater appreciation for things that really matter.” And so nourishing food, a brood of children, books, nature walks, a house filled with friends, music and laughter – those things matter and when I have and appreciate those, I have a simple life. I was recently looking, with dismay, at certain walls in our home that are chipped and grubby. I wanted to erase those walls, maybe even rebuild that part of the house and make it all perfect. But those walls remind me that there is a lot of traffic through this house and it mostly belongs to children that have been playing outside. Those children and their cousins and friends are my simple life and I am not ever going to erase that. Nathan Williams says that “slow living isn’t about determining how little we can live with – it’s about working out what we simply can’t live without.” I love how the slow pace is connected to the simple life. Going slower helps us see more clearly what is truly important. So often, when we are rushing and being ‘efficient’, we lose sight of what is important and life becomes complicated.
I am choosing slow, steady and simple. Deep breaths. We can do this!
“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” – Matthew 6 v 33
Exodus 33 v 14 “My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”
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