Can you slow down?

Part of what I like about creative arts is that it slows you down. You can’t knit or crochet or sew fast, you have to stop, think and plan. You have to consult a pattern, choose colours of yarn and fabric and pull out errors. I like to move fast, take action and get things done. Right now, the world is spinning very fast. There is SO much information and SO much happening every day, I think we have to listen and think and consider and not jump to conclusions. We want everything to be normal and we want to do the things that make us happy and satisfied, but that is not the world we live in anymore. I think we handle uncertainty by slowing down and considering what we can do next. So much is outside of our control and so much is happening so fast that we have to find balance. A balance between being informed and ignoring, making comments and discussing things and slowing down and reflecting. WE NEED TO BE INFORMED. WE NEED TO DISCUSS DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVES. WE NEED TO BE READY TO LISTEN. Being polarized and not listening to each other makes us like our US neighbours and we don’t want to become like them. The US is divided among education lines – Democrats are intellectual and smart and Republicans are uneducated and stupid – and we are doing the same things here. Education is important, but you don’t change minds by talking down to people, you learn through honesty and discussion. We need to STOP being divided and start creating a better world for our children and grandchildren. I believe that we can do it, but not in the way we are doing it now – bullying and division doesn’t work and yes, I am talking to everyone.
Here are a few quotes about slowing down…just reflect and breathe…
Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. – Lao Tzu
When we rush, we skim the surface of fail to connect with the richness of the present moment.
– Carl Honove
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast. – US Navy Seals
Your emotions are the slaves to your thoughts, and you are the slave to your emotions. – Elizabeth Gilbert
The way we communicate with others and ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.
– Tony Robins
In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. – Pico Iyer

Do not live a “rise-and-grind” lifestyle. Fear and pressure keeps you hustling.
How do you slow down?
meditation – leisure reading – exercise – journaling – listening to music – gardening – cooking
– walking in nature – playing in nature – playing with little people or pets – doing puzzles
I love the idea of adopting a “slow living” habit.
Sow a thought, and you reap an act; sow an act, and you reap a habit; sow a habit, and you reap character; sow character and you reap destiny. – Charles Reade
The cost of anything is the amount of life you exchange for it. – Henry David Thoreau
Are you challenging your sense of obligation?
Do you remind yourself regularly that not everyone will like you?
Do you accept that others will judge you?
Do you question your instinct to just submit to authority?
Do you consider whether reciprocity is required?
Do you ask yourself if you are really missing out?
Have you broken the habit of just “saying yes”?

SLOW DOWN AND LIVE FULLY!