I’m Slowing Down

January 6, 2010 by david | 2 comments

I’m slowing down, and I’m rejoining the flow today!

~ from “I’m Slowing Down” Copyright © 2010 David R. McCain

I’ve Been Rushing, Again!

Tell me, crystal ball, "What's the rush?"

Yes, it’s true. I have been moving faster than I’d like through life. Rushing is an affliction that continues to challenge me. Check out a recent blog entry here for a little history. There is so much I want to do. There are so many people to meet, so many ways I want to grow, and so many possibilities to create the world I want!

I sometimes forget that if I’m not fully honoring my own needs in each moment, I will have great difficulty being present to others. Sometimes it seems I need to learn the same things over and over until I begin to live them. Does that sound familar?

Here’s a sampling of the things that have occupied my time over the last few weeks:

Business
- Preparing Foundations Class Curriculum
- Preparing and Presenting Material at a Unitarian Universalist District YoUUth camp in the San Bernardino Mountains
- Working on my Six Keys to Well-Being (My Life Coaching Framework) – I present them at the First UU Church in San Diego on 1/13
- Preparing for the Introduction to Compassionate (Nonviolent) Communication I’m sharing at the First UU Church in San Diego on 1/21
Social/Relationships
- Staying in deep connection by phone with my sweet Katie
- Being Present with my Lovely Father
- Making New Friends
- Nurturing Old Friends
- Loving my Kitten (she is snoring up a STORM right now!)
Celebration
- Celebrating Christmas/Solstice/New Year
- Reflecting on 2009 and looking forward to 2010
Self-Care
- Exercising
- Eating Well
- Journaling, Reflecting
- Laughing/Playing

I am triggering empathy? Sympathy? Are you playing “My Heart Bleeds for You” on the smallest violin in the world

The bottom line is that I am a little overwhelmed because I’m needing balance in my life. I’m wanting more peace and down-time. I want to bring my “best self” with me wherever I go and I regret that I haven’t done that to my satisfaction over the last few weeks.

My Strategies to Meet Needs

We create the world we want moment-by-moment by making requests to help meet our unmet needs. Here are the requests (i.e. strategies) that I have chosen to meet my unmet needs for peace, balance, and ease:

Postponed my January Foundations Classes — The February dates are Thursdays (2/11, 2/18, and 2/25 — evenings 6:30 to 9:30 — and 2/19 and 2/20 — Friday – 6:30 to 9:30 and Saturday – 10:00 to 4:00)
Taken more down time to rest and rejuvenate
Refining my AM and PM routines to provide greater order in my day
Writing this blog entry to clarify my desires and the means I’m choosing to live them
And I wrote a song to further clarify my desires and celebrate my power to live them…

I’m Slowing Down (well, at least I’m singing about it:-)

Coming to you soon on YouTube from VideoswithHeart (that’s my YouTube name:)

I used to always run away
My inner sky damp and gray
I’d hide from fear and cry in shame
Waiting for love that never came
Now I charge ahead to change the world
To live out loud, my flag unfurled
As I race, I look back and see
That I’ve far run ahead of me

Nature slows me down

CHORUS
I’m Slowing Down
I’m grounded in the Now
I’m Slowing Down
I‘m letting illusion float away
I’m Slowing Down
I’m renewing a sacred vow
I’m Slowing Down
And I’m rejoining the flow today!

Killing time by execution
Has me paying restitution
By rushing to make gold from lead
And turning each black-letter day to red
I’ll hammer away at my keyboard
Forging plowshares from splintered swords
Forgetting that in my heart
Is where world peace must start

CHORUS

My black cat jumps onto my chest
Giving my frenetic pace a test
She pierces me with her yellow eyes
Can she see through my disguise?
Beneath the fury of always doing
There is a calmness worth pursuing
In repose on the summer grass
Watching the clouds slowly pass

CHORUS