I'm kicking back this weekend, not doing any client work (I give myself off one Saturday a month) and not doing too much in the way of paper work (yes, of course there's always more to do, but today, it all can wait).
I'm spending some time practicing what I preach: slowing down and really listening - to the sound of silence while walking my dogs right before sunset.
Stopping to actually look up into the trees and I think see some buds (yes, we've had this very warm winter here in Baltimore).
Letting the dogs do their thing, without rushing them along. I hear it's important to let your dogs get their requisite number of sniffs in during a day.
And, by the way, for me, none of this was easy to do. You ask, how can 'taking it easy' be hard to do? Well, take it from a recovering rush-aholic, slowing down and being more mindful requires a change in attitude and behavior that takes time to lay down in one's brain, after decades of being on the go, go go.
You see, I am now almost 'forced' to slow down. Well, yes, I could continue on the path I was. Following the crowd. Thinking I could keep up...but with who? But I don't know where I'd be right now or how I'd feel. What I do know is that the past several years for me has been one of accepting that I can't go at the breakneck pace I used to live. Physical and emotional problems have caused me to be more mindful of what my mind and body need to not only 'survive the work life marathon' but to perhaps most importantly, live the highest quality of life I can.
Limit is not a bad word. In fact, there is another word we use in therapy world that is closely related to limits: that word is boundaries. Setting boundaries is indeed a very healthy behavior, when done, like most behaviors, in balance. No, I can't completely stop, at least not entirely and at least not most of the time. But I can slow my roll, more often.
Yes, slowing down may make you nervous: what am I missing if I don't keep up? Nowadays, it's not so much 'keeping up with the Joneses' but for many of us, just making ends meet. So many of us find that the cost of living is getting so expensive that we are running faster just to keep up.
Mindfulness Therapy comes in many forms and I'll be talking more about it's value in helping you do less so you can be more~!
