Kindness: Slow Down

Day 5: Kindness by Slowing Down

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” – from the movie Ferris Buller’s Day Off

I don’t know about you, but some days I feel like I rush from one thing to the next. The day begins before the sun rises and then it feels like a marathon or a never-ending sprint. I wonder if all the things I pack into one day are really all that necessary. On those sprinting days, which are often, I feel my shoulders tighten, by breath become shallow and my patience running thin. By the end of the day, I’m exhausted, upset and sometimes bitchy. I don’t like that version of myself at all, and I guarantee if I asked my family, they don’t like her either. Today I am reminding myself to stop, slow down, breathe, and try to be in the moment.

1. Kindness to Self:

   Slowing down is something that I need to remind myself to do on a regular basis. Slowing down, simply means to stop and ask myself if what I am doing is necessary and whether doing versus being is worth the stress, tight shoulders, anxiety, and worry. Today, I choose to slow down and live life at my pace. Treat myself with tenderness, understanding, compassion and acceptance for where I am.

2. Kindness to Others:

   Learning to slow down for those people in our life may just be the most important and loving gift we can give.  It can be as simple as giving that person our full and undivided attention. It can mean making eye contact and fully engaging with that person. I am positive that if I spent 5 quality minutes versus hours of half-attention/multitasking attention to my children, friends and community; not only would I feel more connected and fulfilled, I am confident that they would feel it too.

3. Kindness to Strangers:

   Assuming, I can slow down for myself and my loved ones, I could then slow down and acknowledge the people I encounter throughout my day with much more patience, understanding, and kindness.

4. Kindness to our Planet:

   “Slow down and smell the roses,” is an old saying I have heard since I can remember. It is a great and simple reminder to slow down and take in what surrounds us. Whether we live in the country, city or suburbia, take a moment to look around and see the beautiful world we move throughout each day.

Jennifer Palazzo

Photo Courtesy of FreeImages.com/greenchild