Five Ways to Slow Down and Smell the Roses
Photo by Nick Grimshawe
Five Ways to Slow Down and Smell the Roses
(c) by Nick Grimshawe
We live in a high speed society. Faster is better. Slow is a reason for dismissal.
The leisure society which arrived with so much promise a few decades ago never saw the light of day.
The long slow summers of yester year fade from the memories of those of us old enough to remember.
We run our maze like well trained mice doomed to chase an ever dwindling spiral of time.
What can be done?
First, begin by understanding that you cannot change the world with a single step. Don’t do anything drastic until you can smell the roses.
Take small little steps until you regain a sense of equilibrium. When you feel common sense filtering back into your time management worksheet, then you will have time to consider bigger decisions.
Here are Five Small Steps You Can Take to Slow Down and Smell the Roses.
1. Keep an arrangement of flowers in your house at all times. Make buying your bouquet one of those joyful quiet little moments in your harried life. Then stop to smell the flower once each morning before you rush out of the house, and once again when you get back home. This gives you a structure to follow which acts as a reminder to stop and smell the flowers.
2. Meditate… “What! Where am I going to find time to do that?”…ten minutes a day. Put the time in you day-timer (oh my god you’ve got it bad don’t you?) so you have a reminder. Find a quiet place, close your eyes, and listen to your breath. Morning, noon, or night it matters not, just that you take a moment to connect with the eternal quiet of the universe.
3. Eliminate bad news vehicles: Television, Newspaper and Radio. My newspaper subscription expired when I changed my credit card. For at least two weeks I felt lost without that daily dose of news. But then the magic happened. Instead of news I read inspirational books at breakfast and found myself in a more tranquil state. Then on impulse one day I turned off the car radio. What a liberating moment. Now when I drive I just drive, enjoying the scenery without some traffic reporter, buzzing around in a helicopter, telling me about all the disasters ahead. The information really makes no difference and my commutes are peaceful, less harried.
4. Turn on the cruise control and use the slow lane. You will get there in the same time surprisingly enough, more rested less harried and more composed. You will not feel as rushed. Plus your fuel costs will go down adding a nice extra bonus to slowing down.
5. Outsource. Take a long hard look at your schedule and find one task you can get someone else to do. My favorite example is lawn mowing. There is bound to be a neighborhood teen looking for some extra spending money. You get the lawn mowed, get more time, and aid an economically underprivileged teenager. Be creative with this process. Eliminate one task each week for a month.
I have more but culture shock can set in if you slow down too quickly. Remember the idea is to eliminate speed. Don’t make matters worse by rushing to slow down.
Ah! I think I am beginning to spy another law of inverse logic.
Take a deep breath, let it out slowly. That’s right, good. Now go smell the roses.
I’d love to hear from you what steps you are taking to slow down the pace of your life, or have you just given in?
Nick
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