Sometimes I find myself moving so quickly I’ve forgotten what I’m doing or where I’m going…. The pace of modern life is frightening…. Minutes turn quickly into days…. Days, in the blink of an eye, become weeks and weeks turn almost instantaneously into months…. It’s all becoming a blur…. I can barely keep up with the moments as they slip so quickly through my fingers…. I’m barely able to appreciate and enjoy things because no sooner are they with me than they are gone…. I’ve allowed myself to get caught up in the web of demand and expectation so much so that I too am guilty of expecting and demanding from others…. It’s fascinating to see how easy it is, when we’re not paying attention, to get caught up in this web…. I’ve caught myself many times thinking, doing and saying things that do not even reflect my own values and beliefs…. All in the name of expediency…. The force of moving too quickly, rushing and being pushed by the power of circumstances and events can only be averted when I start paying attention…. When I stop and gently focus in this way I notice the noise within me and the pace of my mind…. It’s too loud inside me and everything is moving too quickly…. As I am still right now I invite my mind to be quiet… To be still and unruffled by the events going on around me…. As I invite stillness into my mind I become aware how busy my mind really is…. There is so much going on in here…. It’s not as easy as I thought asking my mind to be quiet and still…. And yet, the more I stay here in the sanctuary of my mind, the more I discover the sounds become less loud….
The movement of my thoughts reduce in their speed…. The hecticness of my mind is quelled…. Just by being still and slowing down my mind almost effortlessly becomes less hectic and busy…. I discover that it is my mind’s nature to be quiet, reflective and still…. Sadly, I’ve not spent enough time in the sanctuary of the mind to make this wonderful discovery…. Now that I see how easily the mind can move from chaos to order, I’m encouraged and inspired to spend more time just being…. Just being quiet…. Just being still…. Just being here in the sanctuary of my mind, free of demand and expectation…. How sweet it is to be free…. The more I slow down the more my mind slows down too…. Instead of my thoughts whizzing by, they move slowly like thick, fluffy white clouds against the pale blue sky on a beautiful summer’s day…. And just as when watching those clouds I am pulled into their tranquillity and beauty, in the same way I am pulled into the beauty of my thoughts and feelings…. As a result I hear their messages loud and clear…. The most powerful message I can hear is to spend more time in this way…. The more I slow down the quicker I will reach my destination…. Less haste, more speed…. This is undoubtedly the formula for success….