Don’t push me
Crawling is still moving
Being a hero would be difficult for me. Even when the bad guy has toppled them with some blunt object or worse, they somehow crab crawl across concrete or broken glass or other terrain that leaves me cringing. And I don’t own a cape. But slowing down is something that I have experienced. Slowing down for illness, grief or choice are all good reasons to move more gently. The turtle pace provides more time to focus on the situation. It is best not to attach slowing down with helplessness. It is actually the opposite but our productive incentivized social norms like when the widget making increases. When slowing down pops up in the natural course of life events, it becomes a part of the slow decline that is not unexpected. It feels better to prop feet up, lean back in the recliner or lay flat out earlier in the day. Those movements can be restorative and help increase the ability to pay attention to the life that is still going on. A slow goodbye is the universe’s gift to say those things that need to be spoken, share those looks that are quietly meaningful and give in to the reality of how humans all experience the ending of breathing. It is learning to live without. It is freeing.
Take Five
Each week this year, read through the suggestions and see how they call out to you.
- Can you walk slowly?
- What are you trying to avoid when running?
- How do you go about making time to focus on your more sudden needs?
- How can you lean back more often?
- How do you respond when someone else needs to slow down?
Come back each day to see if something changes about the effect of an activity. Repeat choices to identify different thoughts. You are not the same person every day. Your life shouldn’t be either.
Live Alive
