The more observant of you have noticed there’s an ‘s’ now attached to the ‘http’, and there’s now a little padlock icon at the other end of the address box. That means this site now has the vaunted SSL Certificate installed, and is now secured. I’m thankful, for I’ve been needing just this therapy after the past several harried, frantic months, trying to make my site work correctly.
Slow-Down Therapy
- Slow down; God is still in Heaven. You are not responsible for doing it all yourself, right now.
- Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there. Each moment has richness that takes a lifetime to savor.
- Set your own pace. When someone is pushing you, it’s okay to tell them they’re pushing.
- Take nothing for granted. Watch water flow, the corn grow, the leaves blow, your neighbor mow.
- Taste your food. God gives it to delight as well as to nourish.
- Notice the sun and moon as they rise and set. They’re remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed.
- Quit planning how you’re going to use what you know, learn, or possess. God’s gifts just are; be grateful, and their purpose will be known.
- When you talk with someone, don’t think about what you’ll say next. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you’ll let them.
- Talk and play with children. It will bring out the unhurried little person inside you.
- Create a place in your home, at your work, in your heart, where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it.
- Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn’t luxury; it’s a necessity.
- Listen to the wind blow. It carries a message of yesterday and tomorrow–and now. Now counts.
- Rest on your laurels once in awhile. They bring comfort whatever their size, age, or condition.
- Talk slower. Talk less. Don’t talk. Communication isn’t always measured by words.
- Give yourself permission to be late sometimes. Life is for living, not scheduling.
- Listen to the song – the complete song – of a bird. Music and nature are gifts, but only if you’re willing to receive them.
- Take some time just to think. Action is good and necessary, but it’s fruitful only if we muse, ponder, and mull.
- Make time for play. Do the things you like to do. Whatever your age, your inner child needs re-creation.
- Watch and listen to the night sky. It speaks.
- Listen to the words you speak, especially in prayer.
- Learn to stand back and let others take their turn to lead. There will always be opportunities for you to step out in front and lead again.
- Divide big jobs into little jobs. If God took six days to create the Universe, can you do any better?
- When you find yourself rushing and anxious, stop. Ask yourself WHY you’re rushing and anxious. The answers may help improve your self-understanding.
- Take time to read the Bible, and let it read you. Thoughtful reading is enriching reading.
- Direct your life with purposeful choices, not with speed and mere efficiency. The best musician is the one who plays with expression and meaning, not the one who finishes first.
- Take a day off, alone. Make it a retreat. You can learn from monks and hermits without being one.
- Pet a furry friend. You will get and give the gift of now.
- Work with your hands. It frees the mind.
- Take time to wonder. Without it, life is merely existence.
- Sit in the dark. It will teach you to see and hear, taste and smell.
- Once in awhile, turn down the lights, the volume, the throttle, the invitations–Less really can be more.
- Let go. Nothing is usually the hardest thing to do. But often it is also the best.
- Take a walk. Just don’t go anywhere. If you walk only to get somewhere, you sacrifice the value of walking.
- Count your friends. If you have one, you are lucky. If more, you are blessed. Bless them in return.
- Count your blessings . . . slowly, and one at a time.
There you have it, 2nd Cup friend: your very own Slow-Down Therapy. And it didn’t cost you a thing!
© D. Dean Boone, April 2019