YIELD- The Power of Slowing it Down

I’ve been receiving a lot of messages lately about the power of pausing and slowing down. Between a deer getting hit by a car driving down the road in front of our driveway to a myriad of situations where my own speeding up and getting caught up in the storm of activity created more chaos and inadvertent errors than necessary.

Last year at this time, I received essential messages about the potency of the “pause” when I participated in a 3-night vision quest led by a ceremonial guide whom I trust. The messages were very clear there- the society we live in can be caught up in an almost auduble whir of machinery and activity. Over-doing, over-driving, pushing hard and fast- all with the undercurrents of “not being enough”, “fear of disappointing someone”, “fear of missing out on something”- the list goes on….

On that land, staring at Mount Ascutney under the full moon for 3 nights, I found myself un-attach from what I began to call “the machine.” It felt surprisingly true- the truest form I know of in life- to simply BE and to not give fuel to the fire of the incessant chattering stormy seas constantly pulling on our attention.

Returning from this experience, I found an ease in being (what I called) “working IN the machine” but not “OF the machine” as I went back into activity of work and responsibilities but without the undercurrents of lack and fear that can keep the pace of activity running furiously ahead of itself without even knowing why.

But..then I fell back into it, swept up by that collective and personal internal voice that somehow thinks something is awry and needs to be fixed, solved, figured out and action now is what is needed. I’ve danced between both worlds ever since, and obviously feel much better when I can remember my inherent nature which is creative potential with ease rather than a maniacal rhythm that needs to constantly “stoke the fire”.

But this week, in the cold still air, with these fall leaves dropping- I began to see how my own running furiously doesn’t allow for the soft yielding power of my own awareness, and how the “gripping the steering wheel” gets in the way of speaking from my heart and honoring my “knowing” in the moment. And I began to be reminded how the slower pace of a more fluid, organic, subtle-body nature IS the way, or at least my way- and certainly is what is calling me as the most important efforts right now. A soft open powerful presence. A fluid, gravitational, resting pausing presence. A deep throated speaking truth to power presence. A yielding to the primal force of knowing presence. And so it is.

“It only takes a reminder to breathe,

a moment to be still, and just like that,

something in me settles, softens, makes

space for imperfection. The harsh voice

of judgment drops to a whisper and I

remember again that life isn’t a relay

race; that we will all cross the finish

line; that waking up to life is what we

were born for. As many times as I forget,

catch myself charging forward

without even knowing where I’m going,

that many times I can make the choice

to stop, to breathe, and be, and walk

slowly into the mystery.” Dana Faulds, Walk Slowly