Slow Down

A quiet act of revolution

SIowing Down.

As I struck the Temple Room gong this morning I had a realisation, slowing down sounds simple but for many of us it's one of the hardest things to do.

I think it starts in childhood and mostly through school. You know, the ' hurry up or we'll be late ', 'quickly now ', ' you need to get your homework in on time ' - (I am sure you too will have your own ' list '.)

We were taught to hurry, and we were rewarded for it. We were taught to override our rhythms even before we were made aware that we had any - and it spills out into adult life.

The thing is, that within the constant push to be productive, we disconnect. We become numb to our bodies, and come away from a steady breath and from the quiet voice inside that needs us to be still enough - for long enough so it can be heard.

The truth is that slowing down isn't laziness. It's a sacred return. Slowing down opens the way to deep listening, deep feeling and ultimately deep healing.

Here in the Temple Room on Sheppey, you will find a place where the world slows its spin. Where your nervous system can exhale ~ and where rush and hurry can be left at the garden gate becasue for me that is how I want to walk through this world, noticing and absorbing , not pushing through and missing out on the beauty that is always around us. Creation, going about its daily work of just ' being' in the midst of its ' doing', growing, blooming and dying.

I have come to know that as the world becomes faster, that the antidote is cultivate the art of slowing down. In a world where speed is rewarded and encouraged - slowing down is a quiet act of revolution.

Today I choose to slow down my rhythm.