Here’s one good reason to slow down and watch the clouds float by on a summer’s day: when you slow down – even just enough to watch those clouds – you will change in positive ways as well.
Yes, stepping out of the rat race can change you for the better! Anxious, hurried feelings may imply a temporary sense of self-importance, but they actually rob you of the very poise you need to be self-empowered.
True self-empowerment begins with being able to choose your own direction in life. And to choose your own path, you need to become aware of the direction in which life’s current flows. A wise teacher once told me that awareness is everything. Sometimes, you need to go with the flow of the current in order to change it.
This principle applies wherever you may find yourself in life – whether caught up in the turbulence of a rapidly changing world, or swept along by an inner flood of thoughts and feelings. Like it or not, you’re going where that current goes, whether you are aware of it or not.
As long as you have no awareness of its direction, you have no real choice, but once you become aware of the current, you can respond in ways that empower you and could even change the course of events!
Slowing down allows you to become more aware of your surroundings and your place in it. It gives you the opportunity to become present with your inner guidance, an essential step toward self-empowerment. When you slow down, you can connect to the deeper meaning of life.
Singer/songwriter Neil Diamond put it this way in his song, “Slow It Down:”
“Slow it down, take your time
And you’ll find your time has a meaning…”
Your true nature is not concerned with or bound by linear time. It never feels the need to rush through life, frantically trying to fit more into every day.
When you allow the events or demands of life to dictate your schedule, you pick up your pace to keep up with the anxious feelings generated by these demands. Over time, you may identify with these urgencies as your own inner drive. You may even confuse the false sense of pressure generated by these demands, with true power. Neither is true. You are not the urgencies of your life any more than a cresting tide is the entire ocean.
Author Vernon Howard offers clear guidance to help us stop this mad dash to nowhere:
“Slow down. Relax. Dare to deliberately defy those inner screams that demand you rush nervously around. Instead, obey another quiet voice that assures you that the casual life is the truly powerful and efficient life.”
If you are ready to slow down your life, you can start with a few simple suggestions.
Beginning this very moment, intentionally separate yourself from any rushing inner condition by voluntarily stepping out of it.
Purposefully slow down by consciously reducing your usual speed:
- At half your normal gait, walk over to get your cup of coffee.
- Reach for the phone, your glass of water or your pen at half your normal speed.
- Stick to the speed limit, especially when late for an appointment or feeling rushed.
One practice I find particularly valuable is to pause a few seconds before I answer someone’s question. This conscious act to slow down allows for Higher Wisdom to guide the conversation instead of the ego to jump right in. No wonder ”fools rush in where angels dread to tread!”
Whatever the occasion, you have the power of choosing to slow down, and then to practice stepping out of or redirecting the flow of your life.
Slowing down helps you become aware of your inner self in a new and higher way. This enhanced self-awareness empowers by showing you that you are not your work, your feelings or even your accomplishments. You are limitless consciousness, and you can choose your own path and pace in life.
This summer and every day, I encourage you to slow down and step out of the rush. If you want to find what is Timeless, dare to live as though you have all the time in the world!
About the author
©Copyright Ada Porat. For more information, visit https://adaporat.com. This article may be freely distributed in whole or in part, provided there is no charge for it and this notice is attached.