Slow Down and Read
Life is busy. I am sure that is the understatement of the century. Doesn’t it seem at times that it is winding up and getting…faster? The precious moments that were rare now seem extinct. Maybe as you ponder this your shoulders tighten and your breath catches in your lungs. I have a question for you to reflect on.
Do you have a reading practice?
Hear me out. Maybe you used to read a lot. You remember former days of being able to devour books in one sitting and you miss it. Is comparing yourself to that former self robbing you of joy that you could access now? We are all in different seasons of our lives. Some are chasing toddlers around. Some are so pressed against the wall with work deadlines that making the time to read feels like a fantasy. Please take a deep breath and let any pressure wash away. What if we try softer as we ponder this question?
“In your light I learn how to love.
In your beauty, how to make poems.
You dance inside my chest,
where no one sees you,
but sometimes I do,
and that sight becomes this art.” Rumi
For some, it is time to deepen and strengthen the reading practices that are already in place. It is time to take the reading that is in place and add in times of reflection. For you, maybe it is time to start asking questions during this reflection time so that this head knowledge travels from the head, to the heart and goes into your actions. A full experience. Let these reflection times be times that bridge the gap between what you think and what you do.
For others you need the time to be still enough to read (or listen) to books. I acknowledge that this is so tricky. These times can be found in coffee shops, or at the dining room table early in the morning, or in the few minutes of silence stolen in the bathroom while kids are playing. Making the time to read books, articles, substacks, and more goes hand in hand with practices of stillness that I have cultivated in my life. Do you need to set aside one particular day a week to read? Do you need a habit of stillness? As I write this I think fondly of a book that I read from a friend on this very subject. I recommend it. (The Soul of the Helper: Seven Stages to Seeing the Sacred Within Yourself So You Can See it in Others by Holly K. Oxhandler) One thing that she writes on stillness is sitting with me now:
“Stillness can be an act of resistance for the helper who is often pressured by others and by themselves to avoid being still. By incorporating stillness practices-you give yourself the space to see God in and around you, and to listen to the still, small voice within.”
I hope that you all can make intentional time to slow down and make time for stillness, for reading, for drawing away…even in this holiday season. Bless you all.