The Speed of Life

Are you living in the fast lane? Is your life speeding by and you're wondering why?

It's all about choices. Life is not inherently fast, we make it so. Life is meant to be experienced, felt, enjoyed and understood. When your life slows down, you have time to reflect, time to enjoy, time to choose wisely, time to relate, time to think. When your life is fast, you miss so much of what makes life worth living: our families, our friends, our interests, our purpose, our spirituality, our community. You make mistakes because there is not enough time for analyzing or judging. You just jump in, thinking that you don't have time. Many folks report they don't have a clue about what they want to be when they "grow up" or what their dreams are. It's no wonder! When do we have time to sit and reflect upon our lives, our choices, our desires.

We usually just go with the program already set up. We get up, go to to work, come home, fix dinner, eat, go to bed. And in among all that is studying, cleaning, paying bills, caring for our children and grandchildren, working on relationships, volunteering, hobbies, etc. If major changes occur such as relocation or a career change, it is usually due to circumstances (not choices) or extreme unhappiness, the kind we can't ignore any more. Often crises occur because we are too out of tune with our own feelings and bodies to know we are in trouble. We wait until we become seriously ill (mentally, emotionally, physically or spiritually) and finally comes to our notice. Then we must make a change. This is no way to live. We are choosing by default, rather than consciously and wisely.

So how do we slow down? Just start now.

1. Make one day a week a "no-work" day. That means no cleaning, no chores, no reading for work, no working on relationships, no work. Spend this day relaxing, seeking pleasure, reflecting or playing.

2. Say no more often. Notice I said, more often, not exclusively. When asked to work overtime, say no. When asked to volunteer for one more thing you're not passionate about, say no. When asked for a favor and it's not something you want to do, say no.

3. Change your traditions. Holidays can be extremely stressful and busy. Eat out on Thanksgiving or have a potluck. Have a non-traditional meal, one that takes less effort and planning. Go to someone else's home. Have a smaller tree or no tree for Christmas. Cut back on the decorating and partying, unless you truly love doing it. Don't do the traditional Halloween excess. Create new traditions that are easier on you.

4. Build into your daily calendar time for thought and reflection or meditation. Make an appointment with yourself to slow down. Or give yourself at least a half hour every day of free time to do nothing. Sit and look out your window or take a stroll outside.

5. Really look at why you feel the need to be so busy. Sometimes busy-ness is a way of avoiding our feelings. If you feel very uncomfortable when you take time out or are one of those folks who "must" stay busy, examine this. You are robbed of your choices, if you can't sit down and be alone comfortably.

6. Simplify your life. Every aspect of your life can be simplified: clothing, cleaning, home, career, school, finances, child care, beauty care, etc. Look for ways to reduce the amount of effort you spend in doing anything and everything. You can literally save hours a day by simplifying. Start small, choose something today to do easier and more simply.

Please leave a comment if this was helpful.