It's funny that in a time when we continuously add to our to-do-lists, I am consciously deciding to dive into the madness..in a new way. As someone who has exprienced the ride of non-stop goal-setting and setting standards so high I could never quite reach (although I was doing darn well in retrospect!), I began a journey years ago to slow down. Ironically, this post is about never slowing down, so I have some explaining to do.
With three amazing kids challenging me every day, I have officially given up the idea of the perfect mom/partner/person I once internalized. The one who is the opposite of all the amazing things I am: messy, funny, quirky, an incredible listener, and someone with a superpower for knowing when energy or feelings are off (and many times can jump in and help regulate). When acting as "perfect" I was turning these powers off. I immediately went from the best me inside (who is beautifully "imperfect" on the outside) to a stressed out, hard-working, pintrest dropout! Oy, we've all been there, I'm sure. Embracing the slow down is what is fueling me now to NEVER SLOW DOWN in my current state.
So how to get the momentum you need to never slow dow? Learn to slow down to go within.
Let's break it down to 3 steps for this week!
Find that spark inside of you unfiltered by the constant noise that we were programmed to listen to. How? Meditate, listen to your favorite music (Abbie Strauss music is quite nice for this wink), enjoy nature, allow life to just be so you can just be...the list goes on!!
Embrace the reasons why you love doing what you're doing. Connecting to your kids by active listening or going for a simple walk, tapping into the kid inside who might be able to connect better to your child's issues/feelings, or the ability to show how being yourself is ALWAYS enough and that is more stable than a perfect/unreachable expectation.
Tap into your heart and dreams that you haven't explored in a while. Commit to exploring, dreaming, and following that spark. Have fun with this!
Notice how I didn't say, "3 easy steps." Take your time to embrace and celebrate you. I promise that once you follow these 3 steps you will feel energized and have the momentum you need to NEVER SLOW DOWN! Dive into you! Don't waste another day. Let's turn off the noise around and shine our best selves out into this world.
Share your thoughts below!
With Love and Light,
Abbie
Forever grateful for your friendship my precious friend! Your song, Ani ma’amin, echoed through my home at bedtime during the hardest season of my life.💜 My children would request “Miss Abbie’s song” every night at bedtime which gave them a peace that surpasses all understanding.
Ani ma’amin b’emunah shleimah”
(אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בְּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה)
“I believe with complete faith.”
You know where we were then and where we are now and how we got here…ani ma’Amin.
I love you and am forever grateful for our beautiful friendship.
Love,
Abbie
You pose a lot of questions to think about. I can’t comment fully until I think through how this list affects me. I can say that I have been putting off writing a blog for a long time. I started one shortly after I wrote my book. You are inspiring me to follow through, perhaps, in time on writing my own blog. For now, I love some of your ideas, meditating, being in nature, walking, though difficult for me to gain much distance with my stenosis, listening to music, including Abbie Strauss’, to following a new path, new for now. Thanks you for reminding me to always keep the door open. Who knows who or what might enter.