Slow Down to Speed Up

Picture this... 

It is 5:40AM, my alarm is blaring.

 I have already been up for ten minutes with my mind racing….

What do I have to do today?

Should I go workout?

You shouldn’t miss today.

But it’s kind of cold. #lamestexcuse

But you seriously need a workout.

I am so tired though.

And then, all of sudden, I got my answer…

Slow down.

Immediately it was as if a strong and caring friend took me firmly by the shoulders and said, be still, slow down, and have peace. 

A part of me was ready to thank that friend, say that they were right and slow my roll….

But dang, man, now is seriously NOT the time to slow down. If anything, right now is the time to speed up. Remember last week’s post? I talked about the pain of being out of rhythm with what was required of me.  And how I hated the feeling of trudging through my homework. When the notion of slowing down was presented to me I was immediately resistant and argumentative to the idea….

However, something I have learned this week is that slowing down doesn’t mean I have stopped. Going slowly means that I am deliberately moving in the direction I should go. My speed has slowed, but I am still moving.  Going slower can be frustrating when you are used to seeing the world in a blur instead of real time, and I think it is necessary to check your pace and check for peace.

To be honest, this other gear is kind of nice. The view is much improved, I can take in more from my environment, and I have found that it is much easier to approach a person who has time for you versus someone who is running crazy.

Let’s get this clear; I don’t have it all figured out. The balance of being productive and working slowly can be difficult. I would challenge you with the notion that sometimes it is necessary to slow down to be able to speed up. It is imperative to break down your form and work through the kinks in order to operate more efficiently.

What I am learning is to listen to my needs and myself. Sometimes speed is necessary and sometimes we must listen and slow it down a little.

So, I went back to sleep and got an extra 1.5 hours of sleep.

Happy Monday.