Slow Down, Look Around, and Hear the Birds Sing

I have been and with grace will always be, inspired and guided by God. Sometimes it is a little more clear than others, but yesterday it was how my day shaped up as opposed to any thing I heard. Life has a loud voice and if we are paying attention, even its whisper can be a gale forced wind that can either set our sails full and take us in the right direction or tip our boats. Either way, a voice can be a pantomime, a play, a picture...so many things. Today the "voice" was a play that asked me to SLOW DOWN.

No matter how I hurried, I simply did not feel I could catch up with myself. I felt I was running to hit every red light. I got behind every slow car. My computer would not load information quickly enough. I waited on returned phone calls and people who were late. At some point, though, I got the message. It was so blatantly in front of me and I do not remember exactly what it was that caught my attention or changed my perspective...but I stopped. And I heard the message. And I slowed down, and breathed, and gave grace to the birds singing their song and to the clouds that showed off their art work. My heart slowed down, I was able to accomplish what I intended to accomplish, I felt gratitude. A whole rush of good things began to flow into my day.

A dear friend wrote to me the other day and said, "Why is life so rushed when all we do is hurry to get to the end?" I think of all the special moments I have missed hurrying to get to the end. I gathered a lot of good things in my basket along the way, but I would love to have some of those more precious memories...or to have taken time to make the memories precious...if I had just slowed down. Perhaps it is wisdom, gathered in my basket and mixed in with all the good things and the not so good things that will allow the rest of my life to be a little slower. Not in accomplishments but rather in the kind of riches of life that are eternal. That person who said, "Stop, slow down, and smell the flowers" was very likely the most aware woman on the planet!!