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Posts tagged ‘Slow’

Nov 30

Elected Silence

“Life is so urgent it necessitates living slow.”― Ann Voskamp

“ELECTED Silence, sing to me
And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
Pipe me to pastures still and be
The music that I care to hear.”
― Gerard Manley Hopkins, Poems and Prose

In slowness, depth, breadth, width
Soften, yield, open
In quietness, rhythm, flow, music
Stillness, witness, wonder
In reflection, gratitude, grace, awe
Center, root, anchor
Sacred ground, sit and stay awhile.

“The season of Advent means there is something on the horizon the likes of which we have never seen before… So stay. Sit. Linger. Tarry. Ponder. Wait. Behold. Wonder. There will be time enough for running.” —Jan L. Richardson

Nov 10

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Truest Lines

“In the hush beyond hurry, beauty begins”― AshRawArt

“Peace is not found by silencing the noise, but by remembering you don’t have to answer every echo.”― Ajmal, The Border of a Mind

Enter slow
Ease the pace
Space, stillness, clarity

“In stillness, the soul sketches it’s truest lines.”― AshRawArt

Nov 30

Foothold

“Take time to see the quiet miracles that
seek no attention.”― John O’Donohue

“This is the time to be slow,
Lie low to the wall
Until the bitter weather passes.

Try, as best you can, not to let
The wire brush of doubt
Scrape from your heart
All sense of yourself
And your hesitant light.

If you remain generous,
Time will come good;
And you will find your feet
Again on fresh pastures of promise,
Where the air will be kind
And blushed with beginning.”
― John O’Donohue, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings

In the slowing
The pause
Of thoughts
Of motion
Of season
Of time
To rest
Empty out
Fill up
Create space
Heal and bind up
Wintering
Hibernation
Cocoon
Clearing the clutter
A respite from the noise
A freshness
A restoration
Not to stay but to prepare
Seed time
Before the threshold of bloom
Readiness to cross thresholds
To feel the earth anew
To find your feet again
To get up and move
In a different yet familiar place of becoming
Blushed with beginning
Fresh with possibility
Ready to dance with rigor
Sing a new song
Woven, bound and anchored in wonderment
Moving with ease and flow

“May you experience each day as a sacred gift woven around the heart of wonder.”― John O’Donohue, Eternal Echoes: Celtic Reflections on Our Yearning to Belong

Oct 15

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Sunday-ing

“Sometimes I have loved the peacefulness of an ordinary Sunday. It is like standing in a newly planted garden after a warm rain. You can feel the silent and invisible life.”― Marilynne Robinson, Gilead

“We live in a culture that celebrates activity. We collapse our sense of who we are into what we do for a living. The public performance of busyness is how we demonstrate to one another that we are important. The more people see us as tired, exhausted, over-stretched, the more they think we must be somehow … indispensable. That we matter.”― Joan Halifax, Standing at the Edge: Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet

One day of seven.
An invitation to rest, to not doing, to not produce.
To set aside efficiency.
A rejection of busy and of the worshipped “to do” list.
To quiet.
To be still.
To wander.
To enter Kairos time rather than Chronos time.
Off the watch into the moment, deep time, flow.
To listen in the slowness.
To ask rather than answer.
To unknow and rediscover.
Counter cultural.
Radical.
Be radical.
Enter Sabbath rest.
Let Sunday do it’s work in you.

“The Hebrew word Shabbat means ‘to stop.’ But it can also be translated ‘to delight.’ It has this dual idea of stopping and also of joying in God and our lives in his world. The Sabbath is an entire day set aside to follow God’s example, to stop and delight.”― John Mark Comer, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World

Sep 20

The World in Pause

“Try to be like the turtle – at ease in your own shell.” – Bill Copeland

“Take a walk with a turtle. And behold the world in pause.” – Bruce Feiler

Pause to see progress.
To mark mileage.
Not in miles but in inches and feet.
In depth and expanse.
The unfolding, the opening, the becoming.
The slow path of transformation.
Seeing the same with fresh eyes.
Attuned to what is and possibilities of what is to come.
Root and reach.
Pause and praise.

“Life is a work in progress.” – Jeff Rich

Sep 17

Slowing to a New World

“Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.” – John Lubbock

“As you slow down, you instantly enter into a brand new world.”― Hiral Nagda

Slow down to see the immensity of the sky.
The endless colors of nature.
The soft whisper of your own voice awaiting to be heard and heeded.
In the slowing, we witness and partake.
The immediate satisfaction of checking transactions off the list is fleeting and hollow.
That longing that remains is an invitation to slownness, pause, and reflection.
Gratitude and awe foster wonder and praise.
It’s a big world in and out.
Slow down and enter a brand new place right in front of you.

“Drink life one sip at a time. This moment is brand new. Let it pour its newness into you.”― Hiral Nagda

Jun 11

Slow Down, Repeat

“As you slow down, you instantly enter into a brand new world.”― Hiral Nagda

“Strange, what being forced to slow down could do to a person.”― Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song

In the hustle
In the hurry
The blur and flurry
Surface and skimming by
We miss the essence of life
Slow down
The nuance
The beauty
The depth and expanse
Slow down
Pause
Take a deep breath
More often than not
Each day, each hour, this moment
Slow down
Exhale, inhale, sit still
In the softness of a long glance
In the margins
Slow down
Gentle pace
Lovely place and space
Stay here awhile, be made new
The magnitude of quietude
Slow down…repeat.

“Sometimes I think there are only two instructions we need to follow to develop and deepen our spiritual life: slow down and let go.”― Oriah Mountain Dreamer, The Dance: Moving To the Rhythms of Your True Self

May 30

Slow Down and Follow Through

“In the age of speed, there’s something to be found in slowing down.”― Kristen Butler

“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

I haven’t picked up my golf clubs in years. This is the year, I am taking golf back up again. Part of my diversification plans – mix things up and play more. I went to the golf range yesterday afternoon to hit balls. Large bucket please. The first 10 balls – swinging fast and hard. Going faster and harder are our natural instincts.

Then it came to me. Slow down and follow through. When I listened, I got my rhythm and cadence. Hitting several balls 220+ yards. And it felt easy. Slowing down and following through – good advice for life too. We jam so much into an hour, our days. Busy, busy. Faster and wearing ourselves down. Autopilot and cruise control.

Slow down and follow through. Enjoy this day as you pump the brakes to take in the scenery. There’s joy to be found. Partake.

“Strange, what being forced to slow down could do to a person.”― Nicholas Sparks, The Last Song

May 20

Summertime Prelude

“Damn it all, you have been given a life on this beautiful planet! Get off your ass and do something!”― Nick Offerman, Paddle Your Own Canoe: One Man’s Fundamentals for Delicious Living

“Summertime, oh, summertime, pattern of life indelible, the fade-proof lake, the woods unshatterable, the pasture with the sweetfern and the juniper forever and ever . . . the cottages with their innocent and tranquil design, their tiny docks with the flagpole and the American flag floating against the white clouds in the blue sky, the little paths over the roots of the trees leading from camp to camp. This was the American family at play, escaping the city heat.”― E.B. White

Cool mornings melting into warm days.
Light earlier and later.
Spring preparing for summer’s turn.
Months to slow, partake and savor.
Pump the brakes.
A rhythm of grace and gratitude.
Color, fragrance, soul time.
Drop anchor and float.

“Our world continues on, faster and busier, and we are reminded that our souls were not created for the kind of speed to which we have grown accustomed. Thus, we are a people who are out of rhythm, a people with too much to do and not enough time to do it.”― Rich Villodas, The Deeply Formed Life