Slow Days

Slow Living

By nature of the label, such a lifestyle is rather...unusual. Nearly every response I receive to the question of, "How are you doing?" starts with the now-expected, "busy". It's just how life IS these days...isn't it?

Busy.

But at the end of your life, will those "busy" days be what flood you with feelings of accomplishment and satisfaction? Of a life well lived?

I'll venture a guess that for most of us, they will not. Likely, it's just the opposite. It's the slow days. The days that are full of lingering... with that second cup of hot and creamy coffee... between the cozy flannel sheets... over a warm muffin and marmalade... by the fire reading a favorite book -to yourself, or to an eager young audience... along a wooded path drinking in the beautiful intricacies of nature... listening to an angelic chior... comforting a friend in need... snuggling close with the one your heart was made for... penning a note to brighten a day... making memories... dreaming... breathing... loving... 

All things that take time. That require slowing down, and saying "no". Maybe even bucking the system and pursuing a lifestyle that is completely foreign to you right now. But the payoff: 

Peace. Contentment. Connection. Satisfaction. Gratitude. Sweet memories. True investment. Self-Awareness. Finding and living your deepest callings. Loving others well. 

Those things are worth it to me. Worth the challenge of living slow in a fast-paced world. Of using a life well lived as a measuring stick against the decisions we make. Of being intentional and selective so that we're giving our best self to our highest priorites. Of savoring each day, down to the minutia that it holds. 

Of going against the flow.