Take the Time to Pause

Life used to be filled with “pauses”. Those times when we sat and admired a sunset, laughed with a friend, or spent the afternoon reading a book.

We’ve lost many of the pauses in life. We let technology take them away from us and in the process have become more stressed and less happy. it?

The loss of the “pause” contributes heavily to the way we respond to life. When you lose the pauses in your life, you lose the good things. You run out of time time to cuddle with your kids on the couch, to toss around ideas with a friend, to read a good book by the fire – you also lose the time to connect with a feel the positive emotions that come with those experiences.

Most people today say that they long for the old days when life was slower, but we don’t need to turn back to clock to experience the positive emotions of life. We do need to be intentional about making it happen.

Something to Think About
With stimuli coming from all directions, real freedom is the ability to pause, to take a deep breath – maybe two deep breaths – and decide where to focus your energy. Ask yourself, “What are my options? Where do I want to be in the long run? What do I need to do to get there?” “Who is important in my life?”

Weekly Activity:
Each day take the time to pause for those things that matter most in your life.

Words of Wisdom
Sometimes I think there are only two instructions we need to follow to develop and deepen our spiritual life: slow down and let go. – Oriah

And so, taking the long way home through the market I slow my pace down. It doesn’t come naturally. My legs are programmed to trot briskly and my arms to pump up and down like pistons, but I force myself to stroll past the stalls and pavement cafes. To enjoy just being somewhere, rather than rushing from somewhere, to get somewhere. Inhaling deep lungful’s of air, instead of my usual shallow breaths. I take a moment to just stop and look around me. And smile to myself. For the first time in a long time, I can, quite literally, smell the coffee. – Alexandra Potter

Perfection of effort is not required, by the way. It is the consistency of attempting to work these tools that brings the progress. It’s like anything else. If I want to tone muscle, lifting a ten-pound weight a few times every day will move me toward my goal much quicker than hoisting a fifty-pound barbell once a week. Yes, it really is true: “Slow and steady wins the race.” Just try a little, every day. You’ll see. – Holly Mosier

LSD stands out for learning to slow down. – Santosh Kalwar

Some of us would take our time, if we knew that we are rushing to our deaths. –Mokokoma Mokhonoana