Slow the Fuck Down

When all of it feels, 

Like it’s just too much,

You can stand in the storm,

And feel the rain touch,

The parts of you that ache,

For calm and for peace.

Remember the water, 

Will wash and release. 

Let it all go,

Let it all be,

All that weighs heavy on you.

Slow it all down,

Then you will see,

Peace is already in you.

I wrote this meditation during the summer of last year.  

Like most of my meditations, the words that my fingers typed onto the screen were a catharsis…a way I could process what I was feeling.  Hoping for some understanding and relief from the fast paced treadmill I felt like I was on.  

I couldn’t catch my breath.  

We had moved into our new home weeks prior and rather than feeling the spaciousness and energetic exhale I had expected, I felt completely overwhelmed, unhinged and lost.  

The summer became a series of tiny sips of air while my kids were home full time and I tried to work (“tried” being the operative word there), and we all tended to the land we were now responsible for.  

I felt buried under the weight of responsibilities.  

As we transitioned into the school year, I thought for sure life would slow down.  A routine would help, right?  

Wrong.  Instead, we found ourselves in a bit of a rat race.  Lots of driving between two schools, sports, making dinner, doing homework, having battles over the resistance to doing homework, going to bed late so we could squeeze in taking care of the animals and land somehow.

I craved slow.  

I danced with dreams about homeschooling and diving head first into the slower life we had taken a step towards.  

I didn’t know all the answers.  I just knew I needed to slow the fuck down. 

What Rat Race Are You In?

Might you, too, crave a slower pace of life?  Do you feel like you’re in a bit of a rat race? 

If so, let me give you an option that isn’t so social-media-sexy, but is, in my opinion, a lot more doable. 

On social media, someone who is “looking for a slower pace of life” sells their suburban home and possessions and moves out to the woods and takes you on their journey of living off the land.  

How do I know?  Because I love watching these folks and, as you can tell from my summer-time cravings, have a somewhat idealized version of wanting to do this.  (I built a chicken coop last week…I’m on my way! ????).

But…

You don’t have to move to the woods to slow down.  You don’t have to completely uproot your entire life in order to feel peace. 

You just have to PAUSE…

And BREATHE…

Photo credit Cord Allman

Yes, It’s That Easy

Go ahead and take a deep breath right now.  And another.  Did you feel it?  The gentle softening of your body?  The slight loosening of your mind?  

Our breath can slow us down internally, so that we can know how to slow our lives down externally. 

When we take the pause that meditation provides for us, we are consciously choosing to step off of the hamster wheel of thoughts and emotions that is constantly moving in our minds.  And when we do, a space of stillness opens up inside of us that gives us an opportunity to hear the whispers of our intuition, our internal compass for life. 

We use our breath to guide us here.  

To me, this is the true magic of meditation.  And the reason why I practice it, create it and share it with such passion. 

Everything you could possibly imagine is waiting here for you on the other side of your breath. 

Including direct guidance on how to give yourself the slow down you crave. 

Your Own Personal Slow Down

So what exactly do you need to slow your life down?  To feel less rushed?  Less stressed? 

Take some deep breaths and just sit with this question in meditation. Holding it with an open palm as you surrender to the meditation process.  

Perhaps the whispers you hear are simple steps you can take to make dinnertime easier.  Or an idea to help you with kid dropoff and pickup.  Or maybe you think about the babysitter you had years ago and you get the nudge to call her again for some support.  Maybe you have a vision of you spending more time outside in nature after work more often, or you letting go of activities that are a little too much right now.  Or an idea that can simplify your whole schedule. 

Or in my case, maybe you hear your intuition calling you to spend more time outside with your kids…less scheduled, less devices, more space.  More time doing farm chores and playing with the chickens. 

This is Tux.  Isn’t she so cute?!

Whatever whispers you hear, trust them and courageously take action upon them.  And then see how life feels.  You can always adjust and evolve.  

It’s your life.  Your pace.  Your rules.  

Namaste, Beautiful,

???? Katie

???? I love you.

Namaste, Beautiful…????

Katie Krimitsos
Creator of the Women’s Meditation Network
katie@womensmeditationnetwork.com