What
is Your Pace of Life?
Learning
to slow down use to be a challenge for me, slowing down meant I had to stop and
think about all the things in my life I did not like. I had to deal with Lucas continually being in
harm’s way. I had to worry about my
daughter’s health issues. I had a job I
hated. I did not live where I wanted
too. I felt like I was stuck on
hold. When I stopped moving I had to
accept that I did not have control over all the things I wanted too.
This was
great technique to put all the things I hated about my life in a box I could
hide under a bed. The bad part is it
came out in other ways. I was
continually stressed because I never took the time to relax. When I did stop to take a break I found
myself in the fridge stuffing food in my face or drinking enough wine to numb
myself for the next 6 months.
This was
no way to live. I was always tired, sick
and strung out from stress. After a few
scary health issues I looked at where my life was out of balance. Pace of life was screaming for a slowdown. At first slowing down was not easy. I had to think about those uncomfortable
feelings I did not like to deal with. It
took a lot of courage to let these thoughts come to mind. In a few days of really working at it I found
the benefits were more than worth the few minutes of being uncomfortable.
I learned
I could deal better with those feelings when I faced them rather than stuffed
them down. Through meditation I learned
to change what I could control. I
started taking wellness classes to have a career I love rather than sitting at
job I hate. I started taking better care of my daughter’s
health and my own because I cooked healthier meals. An added bonus is my daughter’s health
improved dramatically because she learned how to slow down and relax from
me. She was able to express her fear of hospitals
and dying. In return I was able to
reassure her about some of her fears that she kept bottled up.
I have
accepted that Lucas is patriot before anything else. I knew that when I met him years ago. I have to admit that is one of the reasons I
fell in love with him. I know he loves
me and his family – that is motivation for keeping us safe. If he were to change he would not be the same
man I fell in love with. I still am not
happy about living in snow country, but; the alternative is living in a warm
climate without the support of family when Lucas is away. I tried doing that in the past when I lived
in NC. It wasn’t easy; I am not willing
to go through that while my daughter is still very young. In a few years when she is older, it will be
easier for us to live farther away from family.
Life is not perfect. I have to keep myself in check. It would be very easy to run from here to there without thinking when I encounter situations I do not want to deal with. Moving at the speed of light was my coping mechanism for many years; it can be easy to fall into old habits. I have found my vigilance pays off with inner peace.
Some of
my tips for slowing down are:
Meditation
Walking
outside no matter the weather – really pay attention to nature, the sounds,
smell, and sights. There is nothing more
beautiful than Mother Nature.
Go to
yoga
Watch a
silly movie
Listen to
music
Take a
nap
Get a
massage
Read a
book
Take a
shower
Do
nothing
Cook a
healthy dinner
Play with
your kids
Dance
Find your
own way of slowing down to enjoy life.
