- Slow down; God is still in heaven. You are not responsible for doing it all yourself, right now.
- Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there; each moment has richness that takes a lifetime to savour.
- Set your own pace. When someone is pushing you, it’s OK to tell them they’re pushing.
- Take nothing for granted: watch water flow, the crops grow, the leaves blow, your neighbour mow.
- Taste your food. God gives it to delight as well as to nourish.
- Notice the sun and the moon as they rise and set. They are remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed.
- Quit planning how you’re going to use what you know, learn, or possess. God’s gifts just are; be grateful and their purpose will be clear.
- When you talk with someone, don’t think about what you’ll say next. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you let them.
- Talk and play with children. It will bring out the unhurried little person inside you.
- Create a place in your home...at your work...in your heart...where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it.
- Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn’t luxury; it’s a necessity.
- Listen to the wind blow. It carries a message of yesterday and tomorrow-and now.
- Rest on your laurels. They bring comfort whatever their size, age, or condition.
- Talk slower; Talk less; Don’t talk; Communication isn’t measured by words.
- Give yourself permission to be late sometimes. Life is for living, not scheduling.
- Listen to the song of a bird; the complete song. Music and nature are gifts, but only if you are willing to receive them.
- Take time just to think. Action is good and necessary, but it’s fruitful only if we muse, ponder, and mull.
- Make time for play at the things you like to do. Whatever your age, your inner child needs re-creation.
- Watch and listen to the night sky. It speaks.
- Listen to the words you speak, especially in prayer.
- Learn to stand back and let others take their turn as leaders. There will always be new opportunities for you to step out in front again.
- Divide big jobs into little jobs. If God took six days to create the universe, can you hope to do any better?
- When you find yourself rushing and anxious, stop; ask yourself ‘WHY?’ you are rushing and being anxious. The reasons may improve your self-understanding.
- Take time to read the Bible. Thoughtful reading is enriching reading.
- Direct your life with purposeful choices, not with speed and efficiency. The best musician is one who plays with expression and meaning, not the one who finishes first.
- Take a day off alone; make a retreat. You can learn from monks and hermits without becoming one.
- Pet a furry friend. You will give and get the gift of now.
- Work with your hands. It frees the mind.
- Take time to wonder. Without wonder, life is merely existence.
- Sit in the dark. It will teach you to see, hear, taste and smell.
- Once in a while, turn down the lights, the volume, the throttle, the invitations. Less really can be more.
- Let go. Nothing is usually the hardest thing to do - but often it is the best.
- Take a walk-but don’t go anywhere. If you walk just to get somewhere, you sacrifice the walking.
- Count your friends. If you have one, you are lucky. If you have more, you are blessed. Bless them in return.
- Take time to wander in the forest and listen to God’s creation.
- Count your blessings - one at a time and slowly.
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