Slow. It’s a word that has come to describe our family’s pace of life (most days) and I love it.
We had to fight for it. We had to cut back and streamline and let go and say “no” a thousand times over the last 6 months to make it happen.
And we’re all happier for it.
It means we have time to talk. Time to hang out. Time to enjoy the smells, sights, sounds, and tastes of life. Time to really listen. Time to notice the little things. Time to breathe. Time to plan ahead and prep ahead and think about further ahead than just the next fire we need to put out.
It means that we’re able to really savor those things that we say “yes” to, we’re able to go deeper in relationships, we’re able to love more sincerely, we able to sleep more peacefully, we’re able to take time to feel pain so we can heal from pain, and we’re able to live more purposefully.
We don’t always do it perfectly and sometimes we get sucked back into the rush… And we use those times as warning signs that we need to step back and re-adjust. Because crazy busy is exhausting and unfulfilling to me now.
This Year of Rest has been a wild journey and it’s forever changed my productivity addictions in powerful ways. And I’m grateful. And deeply happy.
P.S. The book shown is a new release by my friend, Monica, and I’ve been loving reading it! You can get a copy here.
Monica says
Thanks for sharing about my book, Crystal! So grateful for your year of rest and the blessing I know it must be to your family!
Uma @ Centsible Indian says
So glad it works for your family in this phase of your life. I guess it’s different for each family and needs. Some of us are still at a point where we need to put more effort and stretch ourselves thin before even thinking of REST. Hopefully we will reach a place in life where we can embrace REST.
For now, Let’s get going! 🙂
Rosanna says
I love this! We have also been learning to savour the slowness of life. It isn’t always easy. After all, sometimes there’s time for boredom…The biggest thing that has helped us is to intentionally plan our calendar before the month even starts. It’s like budgeting our time, just like we budget our money. This has helped us not to forget any of the important things and fit in a few extras. I still struggle with saying no to some of the things that come up within the month, though. It’s the guilt that gets me. i.e. “What will they think of me?”, “What if I’m not serving in the church enough?,” etc. It’s something I’m definitely working on.
Melissa says
This is such a good word!
“It’s like budgeting our time, just like we budget our money”