Are You Living Fast and Furious and Want Something Different?
Laura Longville
There are so many ways to show up in life. We Americans are active, busy, and productive people. In fact, many conversations start with, “Are you busy? Do you have a minute?” On one hand, this is a thoughtful way to begin a conversation; on the other, it’s indicative of how jam-packed our lives are.
White space, margin, breathing room, and free time describe something we all long for. It’s having room internally to think clearly without a million thoughts bombarding your mind. As well as literal white space or blank areas on our calendars.
For many, after the start of the new year, families enter back into the full swing of school, activities, and other obligations. It can be overwhelming and discouraging at times. Why not do it differently? You could be intentional and proactive by doing a couple of different practices.
Two key words-Intentional and practiceS
Intentionally creating breathing room is just as important as deliberately getting up on time to get to work. Life can scream for your attention, slowly squeeze the life out of you or you could who up show up differently; in a more life-giving approach. Prioritize. Recognize you’re a priority. If you don’t care for yourself, you can’t be there for others.
“You have to be intentional and make “you” a priority. Then practice.”
Practice, by definition, is repeating something to get better. We perform routines repeatedly to fine-tune our skills. A golfer practices her swing over and over again. A musician sings scales to warm up his voice, and a speaker rehearses her story to deliver the most impact.
Discipline is a key component of being intentional and practicing something new. Making space in your life is a conscious CHOICE to make you a priority. Life takes over if you aren’t paying attention! Before you know it, life is telling you how to live instead of you deciding how you’re going to show up.
It’s a bit like this. You’re on an alpine slide, slowly gliding out of the gate, enjoying the beautiful mountainside scenery and the wind in your hair. Your glider is smoothly riding the rails, and your heart races as you pick up speed. Quickly you use your break to round the first of many unexpected corners. Before you know it, a steep hill shoots you down the course, fast and furious. You may feel exhilarated and……. a bit out of control. Many like this feeling, while others may be white-knuckling it and feel green with fear.
Either way, it’s important to remember you’re in control of the glider. You have a brake available to you. You have the ability to determine how fast you want to ride the alpine slide or how fast to live life. Sometimes, we even have the choice of whether or not we want to ride the alpine slide. Are you “riding the glider” of life like you want to?
In this blog series about spiritual practices, I’m inviting you to do life S L O W E R with more intention and with practice.
Today, pay attention to your life. Ask yourself a few questions:
1. How can I create space in my life that brings me peace and rest?
2. Where do I feel like I’ve lost the ability to “brake” the glider in my life?
Sharing the intentional journey with someone can help. Find someone who could join you. Supporting one another is vital to practicing something new. Who can help you?