Slowing Down
It’s hard. We live in a time when we can have almost anything instantly… information or a blockbuster movie on our phones, food zapped in the microwave, personal items or toys delivered within hours from Amazon. Our patience reduced to flicks on a screen.
Take this slide show for example. It is the same set of four photos repeated four times. With each set, I have increased the seconds of each picture before flipping to the next.The first set is 1 second each, the second set is 2 seconds each, etc.
The four seconds for each photo in the fourth set seems really long, especially compared to the previous ones. In current marketing, it is said we have 3 seconds to grab someone’s attention. It used to be 8, before that it was 19, and before that, well, you see where this is going.
After my last Disney residency in 2019, I was exhausted and burned out. My head was in constant torture of pain, which turned out to be a brain cyst that I ended up getting operated on with the majority was removed. I vowed I would slow down and be in the moment for the little things that occur in daily life.
I guess I started falling back into my old busy ways because eight months after brain surgery, osteoporosis struck me in my tracks and I fractured my spine the first time. I’ve now fractured two more times and have no choice but to slow down. And I am grateful.
It is wonderful to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee sitting on our bistro settee in the kitchen while gazing out the window. I’ve never been a cook, but it is so enjoyable to grab one of my handmade casserole bakers and feel the invitation to toss ingredients in and make a delicious meal. And at the end of a day of doing what I love, it is settling to write a note of appreciation and toss it in my Blessing Bowl to send a whisper of love to the night fairy visiting me in my dreams.
So, I invite you to watch the video that is less than a minute. It’s not about my pictures, it’s about noticing the length of the photos as they flip through the slide show, each photo set pausing longer than the one before.
The challenge I give to you is to think about something you do regularly and imagine having a set of photos to show it. When you replay those photos in your thoughts, slow them down, set the mood around them with scents and textures. Then each day try to live those scenes slower than the day before. Take the time. Don’t pick up your phone. Turn the TV off. Simply be in the moment engaging fully with what you are doing.
Smell the coffee. Enjoy the mug!
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