Walk Slowly and breathe

Autumn in Northern Europe particularly November can be a challenging time of year for many reasons, like the nights beginning to quickly draw in, days seem much shorter but we still have to get things done so we can find ourselves rushing around a lot more as a consequence.

The beautiful poem below by one of my favourite poets, made me stop in my tracks and think recently about how we really don’t need to rush around, we have a choice to give ourselves a moment to pause for a breather, literally! It may only be five or ten minutes out of our day, but it can give us back the ability to think clearly and remember we aren’t machines !

Us humans however must be one of the very few living species on the planet that can give ourselves such a hard time. Observing most animal behaviour is another reminder to live as much in the present as possible, and enjoy the simple things.

Sometimes complications are unavoidable but taking time regularly to ‘walk slowly’ observing the beautiful world around us is simply wonderful and so very good for us ...

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Walk Slowly
It only takes a reminder to breathe, a moment to be still, and just like that something in me settles, softens, makes space for imperfection. The harsh voice of judgement drops to a whisper and I remember again that life isn’t a relay race; that we will all cross the finish line; that waking up to life is what we were born for.
As many times as I forget, catch myself charging forward without even knowing where I’m going, that many times I can make the choice to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk slowly into the mystery .

Dana Faulds

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