What is this life if, full of care. / We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs / And stare as long as sheep or cows.
No time to see, when woods we pass / Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.
No time to see in broad daylight, / Streams full of stars like skies at night.
No time to turn at Beauty's glance / And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can, / Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care, / We have no time to stand and stare.
-William Henry Davies
Possibly my favourite Poem of all time.
There is a premium on swift action. Being fast if not first is valued, as Speed is King. With our lives measured in bits & bytes, is it any wonder our Health, Performance and Relationships begin to suffer.
We are not designed to work round the clock. My working life has been both pleasant and productive.
Small mistakes made over yesteryears may mock me in the days to come, but every thing I learned in my early days hold true even now. Incremental completion of small tasks, I look for the moment when I can sprint to the Finish Line.
Instead of doing every thing faster,better to do it at the rightspeed.
"Hapa,hapa" in Swahili means Slowly,slowly.The Kenyans listen to their bodies - Training when they feel good and taking time off when they need rest. Each year a different group of athletes appear on the horizon, and amongst them a new champion emerges. The talent pool seems endless.One can run fast if trained hard and recovered harder.
You can't sprint forvever, but you can pull your pace down. Slowness must be part of education and health care. Our present health care system is all about repair, and not what is good for the body. The best way to slow down is to sleep a little more, and pay more attention when awake. It is not about delaying thinking. It is about assigning time to things when I can give them my full attention. Sleep is also a part of it. We must seek a reconnection to ourselves, to each other and with the world around us.
My ability to slow down is a result of not wanting to rush through my life. When I was living life as if it were a sprint, I was unconscious of the world about me, and it felt Heavy, Stressful and Burdensome. Learning to slow down, I am able to make my voice heard and live life as I run the Marathon. And to my surprise, it does not feel like a struggle anymore. In fact it is so much fun. Next time when you are in a rush to get somewhere, take in the surrounding Sound, Sight & Smell. Cheers!!
2 comments:
So much joy can be found in slowing down 😀
No time to see and stare is one of my favourite poems too. It's a good reminder for each one of us when we are caught up in the rat race of life. As you get older, you learn to prioritise and benefit from the decision. Making time for myself now is number one on my list. Everything else can wait. Personally, it's the best time of my life.
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