Monday, April 27, 2009

Slow and steady

Slow and steady wins the race - the ultimate mantra for time management!Sometimes I wonder where the years have gone - other times I'm in a hurry to get there (although I'm not quite sure just where "where" is...) then there are the days that just seem to whiz by me and I wake up - OMG! Its Friday already and I haven't even left the gate!

When we lose track of time and focus on the past - or future - we can lose minutes, days, weeks, months or even years. I have to remember to think about what I want my tomorrow's to look like and then to stay present in today so that I am working toward my goals instead of wallowing in my head the jumble of thoughts - words, memories...feelings that I 'm trying to avoid - these are the things that can prevent me from joining the race and actually getting round the next bend in the road....

So - today as I remind myself that my current job it to practice living in my now and doing my now work I remind myself that if I just keep putting one foot in front of the other that my tomorrow's will all line up just fine.

So while slow and steady wins the race - we have to remember to wake up and step up to the starting line every day.

1 comment:

Michele Rosenthal said...

I love this post! Even if it IS one of the hardest concepts to master.

For myself, this idea of being slow and steady was really incremental in my healing PTSD. I had to think and focus really hard on what I wanted my tomorrow to look like (and myself in it!) and then work very hard in the present moment to keep myself headed in the right direction. I needed to redefine my identity, to cause a switch from survivor to a new perspective.

One thing that really helped me in this process was the pursuit of joy. Once I decided I wanted to experience joy in tomorrow, I found a way to bring that experience into my daily life. I did this through dance lessons. When I knew I had scheduled dance time each day I knew that I'd be focused on joy and reconnecting with myself every day, which supported my healing process (and was also a great way to stay fit, release some endorphins, and meet a slew of other joyful people!). It took a long, slow and steady year before I didn't have to think this through and remind myself to, as you say, step up to the starting line, but now it's a habit. :)