I admire those who live so slow. They’ve got something right; they know something I want to know. People who recognize the gift in every breath, the taste in every bite and the joy in every waking moment; those are the people I want to be around. Those are the people I want to become.
I was sick this week. For a few days, I couldn’t do anything more than lay in bed and fight a fever. I got better but life was a little different after that. I went outside and I felt alive. Cold, Brussels, air streamed up my nostrils as I inhaled being outside again. I walked 8 blocks and passed the Christmas market. It went up while I was out; the city changed like everything changes. The city became more joyous as I did a bit too.
I walked and I wasn’t thinking about work or meetings or even the stuff I do for fun. I was walking and breathing and feeling what I had missed so much for a few days. I thought of how I could remember this feeling more often. I was afraid that a few days will go by and I’d forget it again. I’d forget how to live slow. It happens like this. Something shakes me, something wakes me and I’m embracing the moment but only momentarily again.
A while ago in Spain, a charming Italian gelato shop owner schooled me on a mindful life. "What you Americans don't understand", he passionately began, "is that every day you've got 3 chances for happiness. Once at breakfast, once at lunch, and again at dinner. Why do you eat sh*t?"
What stuck in my mind wasn’t his hate of American food. Maybe because he sold the best food in the world, or maybe it’s because he was Italian, but he seemed to know there’s always a chance for slowness. Mindful, meaningful moments aren’t a response to bad thing. They could happen anytime; probably even more than 3 times a day.
I don’t always live slow, but I’ll take every opportunity to remind myself of this. Maybe every time I finally slow down, breathe in and savor life, I become a little more like all the people I want to become. I just hope it doesn’t take getting sick every time to do that.
Just love this. Enjoy every moment whether it is fast or slow. Glad you are feeling better too.
This is lovely reminder for me to slow down mentally. Physically I’m pretty much in the house 24/7 and my chronic fatigue prevents me from going a zillion miles an hour. Mentally still need to slow down though big time. Incredibly challenging for me.