When is the last time you truly slowed down? I’m not talking about not being busy; when did you purposely slow yourself down from the always-on, frenetic pace at which so many of us often find ourselves?
We’ve retrained ourselves to always be busy, or feel that if we’re not busy with something we’re falling short. Work/life balance? What is that? As the business economy has continued to change in the face of technological advances, we’ve seen how the dividing lines have eroded. We check our work email at all hours. Some of us work on side projects and side jobs in our time off. Others take working vacations. Truth be told, sometimes those things are necessary and unavoidable. I work on a lot of things, and I’m not griping about that. But what is the cumulative toll of lives constantly lived with an always-on mentality?
We need to slow down.
We need to consciously take time — even if it’s just moments — to still ourselves. To drink in peace. To stand on a rocky shore at sunset and bask in the beauty of our natural world, inhale the crisp, salty air, and to feel a bit of rejuvenation.
You and I, we both need to take the time to slow ourselves down and appreciate this life we have.
“It’s the rest in a piece of music that gives it resonance and shape.” — Pico Iyer