A Slow Moment
A simple and very beautiful moment with EyeSwoon’s new book, Live Beautiful.
Something has me inspired lately to slow down. It can be so difficult to carve even just a moment out of the daily grind – and yet when we do, it’s so incredibly empowering. I feel as though I’m taking back time that is uniquely my own.
No one ever said you couldn’t take the extra 10 minutes each morning to stare out the window and sip your coffee. Never was it determined that you couldn’t spend your lunch hour in a museum. An alarm doesn’t sound if you turn off your computer in the middle of a workday to meditate. Turning off your notifications so you can just think for a little while isn’t against any law.
Each day I’ve been trying to do one special thing for myself that involves stepping away. Be it a run to a fancy coffee shop for a decadent pastry and cappuccino or taking a walk to the beach to stare out onto the horizon. Sometimes during these acts I’ll catch myself thinking about all the missed notifications I must have, emails going unanswered or people noticing I’m gone for a few extra minutes than normal.
I start to get nervous and think, oh I should hurry up – but then I remember: who gives a shit?
Nobody can give you this moment. You are the only permission that you need. You owe no explanations besides the one to yourself that you need a slow moment or two.
There is SO crazy much going on around us on a given day. We are constantly running from one thing to the next, skimming one email while 5 more drop in. Whole meetings can go by without even so much as a second of pause for thought. Yet this is where we are – a bustling world that moves. And as humans, it’s our job to move along with it without losing ourselves or our unique perspectives.
I started realizing I was losing bits of myself one morning while I was running an errand before work. I was stopping off to buy flowers for a work event and it hit me. Never would I find myself at the flower stand at 9am on a workday except in this rare and yet keenly beautiful occurrence. I gathered my flowers, stem by stem. I worked slowly and with intention. As I finished, the gal working the stand asked me if I’d like to go and grab a coffee while she wrapped everything, “it’ll be a few minutes,” she had said. I walked across the street to a favorite café. As I crossed the threshold, it became so apparent that I had just entered foreign land full of people going about their lives in a rhythm that I had never experienced before. It felt like I was intruding on a new way of life – a slower, more intentional, and very happy way of life. I loved that everyone was simply sitting, enjoying their moments, savoring each second and then with care – moving onto the next moment. It felt like no one was rushed, and everyone was where they needed to be.
Ever since, I’ve been trying to insert moments like these into my daily routine. I’ve been intentionally seeking solace in small, yet impactful moments that nurture my creative and inspirational needs. I hope that these inspire you, and that you perhaps take away a few of your own to try.
Be they small, or larger – the moments you take are the greatest gift you can give yourself. So go forth, and do something purely, wholeheartedly for you.
