My alarm didn’t go off this morning. Well, it went off, but then the snooze didn’t alarm like it’s supposed to. We woke up 40 minutes late. I quickly got Julia dressed, fed, and ready for Jason to take to school. But we made it, even if we’re all still rubbing the sleep out of our eyes.
This morning was a stark contrast to how these 30 Days have been. I found out quickly that seeing the little and important things in my life means that I need to slow down to look for them. That I can’t keep rushing at break-neck speeds grasping at whatever I can wrap my fingers around to remember. Life doesn’t work that way. Life shouldn’t work that way.
I like this slower pace.
I have needed this slower pace.
I don’t know how or why or when, but busy has become some kind of merit badge for modern living. We brag about where we are and how much we’re doing. I’m guilty of it to. “I’m just so slammed lately.” “Oh, my kiddos are keeping me running right now.” “Where do my days go?”
We all do it. It’s as if being busy proves that we’re living life, that we’re experiencing everything there is, that we’re being productive. That life is full.
And maybe life is full when we’re busy, but it’s not full of what’s important. It’s full of errands and to do lists. It’s full of appointments and watch checking. It’s stuffed with impatient foot tapping and heavy sighs. Worry. Rushing. Tossing and turning. And I know that I don’t like that kind of busy at all.
My slowing down didn’t happen on purpose, but as I started to open my eyes and notice what was beautiful around me, it happened. I looked for those small things that I wanted to really cherish in my every day, and my pace almost crawled. It was like my world came back into focus somehow. Things weren’t blurred like before, nothing was passing me by.
Some moments, I’m even able to sit still and just be.
I find that in slowing down, I’m able to enjoy the moment for what it is.
And in this moment, this second, right now, I enjoy my children more. I enjoy my husband more. I enjoy being inside my head more. The act of slowing down has shown me where the emphasis should be. I don’t need to be distracted by the speed of my life, and I can see what I actually really want to see.
From here, being still with my feet dangling in the cool waters of life, the future looks amazingly beautiful. Won’t you join me?
Great post. It reminds me of my Monday morning emails from my mom. When she checks to see how the past week has been. If I have to stare at the computer screen with a blank expression because I can’t remember what happened in the past 7 days (or sometime the day before), I know that I didn’t make time for what was important. That I didn’t slow down to enjoy life.
It’s never a good feeling to realize that a week went by and you remember nothing more than the feeling of being busy.
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