Life at the Speed of Slow

When was the last time you really slowed down?

I remember it as if it was yesterday. How quickly I forget. We arose early and gathered quietly in the early morning dawn. Trying to keep moving to shake off the chill of the early morning. Listening intently to DJ as he gave us all instructions on how we would spend the next few hours. Once the instructions were finished there was to be complete silence as we journeyed into the nearby hills, so we were paying attention as there was an odd finality to his speech.

I had been hiking the same trails with the guys all week. Rising even slightly earlier than today to gather in the lounge while it was still dark and hit the trail right at dawn in order to make it up and back in time for breakfast. A work out, the faster the pace the better. Same trail…familiar territory I thought as we headed up the hill.

I recall being amazed at all that I saw. There were small signs lining the trail with Words of wisdom and encouragement. How could I have missed them I thought? Had they just placed them this morning in time for our hike? I noticed a small field mouse beside the trail. Deceased. I wondered if he was road kill from one of our “workouts” earlier in the week. Not quite fast enough to cross the trail as the herd of weekend warriors rushed by on the way back to breakfast at a break neck pace.

Not now however. We were on a meditation hike in fact. Walking the entire length of the trail to the summit at a literal snails pace. At first the slowness of the pace was almost too distracting. I recall thinking I wasn’t sure I could walk this slowly for that long! I had never walked this slow, let alone in complete silence! I remember somewhere along the trail my senses coming completely alive. Opening up to the vastness of all that was around me. The slowness of the pace exposing me to an entirely new experience. An abundance previously missed.

Having reached the summit we obediently moved silently towards a resting spot of our choosing in order to enjoy our lunch…in silence. I found a rock outcropping bathed in the late morning sunlight and settled in for a slow and quiet meal. The experience was incredibly relaxing. We returned to camp as we had gone out at the same pace. For those of us that wished to at the end of the walk gathering to discuss the experience and share with the group.

I don’t know that I have had a slower day since.

I remember after seven days of no caffeine, no sugar, no soda, slow walks, and little contact with the hustle and bustle of the outside world becoming accustomed to my new found slower “pace”. Relaxing, reading, resting, walking, even napping on occasion (especially during my first and only facial).

My respite was short lived. Only to return to the hustle and bustle of a Southern California freeway and an airport completely jammed with would be travelers heading somewhere as it was a week before Christmas. “Why is everyone driving so fast?” I remember asking the driver, as the frenetic pace on the freeway seemed overwhelming to me. How quickly I forgot how to slow down and returned to my normal hurried pace.

I am going to slow down tomorrow. Tap the brakes. Take a long slow walk in silence.  Enjoy the day.  I wonder what I’ll see.

 
When was the last time you really slowed down? Life at the Speed of Slow.