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DAVID BENTLEY'S WEEKLY COLUMN |
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SLOWING DOWN
This morning I'm making a breakfast casserole that has taken me 20 minutes to put together and will likely take a half-hour to cook. That's a far cry from the usual two minutes for a bowl of cereal or the five minutes for eggs and toast. I could have nuked a frozen entree in a couple of minutes. I could have grabbed a breakfast sandwich or burrito at the market. But today I wanted to take the slow route. Slowing down is an idea that has been sneaking up on me for a long time. I saw the signs of my busyness years ago, but ignored them. My dependency on my personal calendar seemed normal. Trying to schedule too many events in a given day was a routine task. Juggling work schedules with obligatory meetings and social commitments was a nightmare. A weekend with only four scheduled events or tasks seemed like a mini-vacation. Then I watched island tourists and saw a reflection of myself. They came off the ferry dashing about to find lodging, picking up reserved tickets for whale watching tours, and scheduling dinner or theater reservations via cell phones as they walked from one store to the next. It made me tired to see them "relax." I observed bicyclists so intent on covering their daily mileage that they never saw the eagle dive from the scraggly tree top and snatch a salmon from the bay. I chatted with visitors who couldn't believe we have no fast food chains on the island. I've even had more than on vacationer tell me he couldn't wait to get home to rest. So now my breakfast casserole is done. When I finish eating, I'll hand wash the dishes, take a bath, and see how the day unfolds. There is nothing that I have to rush to do, today. It will likely take some time to get used to this slowing down business, but so far I like it.
© 2005 David Bentley David Bentley, M.Ed. & Personal Coach, coaches clients through the game of life, helping them find balance, clarity of direction, and purpose in an ever-changing world. You may contact him at 360.378.8436 by e-mail at david@coachbentley.com or visit his Web site: www.coachbentley.com |
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SAN JUAN ISLANDER © 2008 |
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