We run all year long between our jobs, kids ‘schools and activities, spending too much of our life going somewhere by car, by bus, by subways or trains. By the time the end of the year is near, it is as if we have the surge to do more and faster before Christmas like we didn’t do enough the rest of the year.

We run to malls, supermarkets, and stores dealing with aggressive customers, packed parking lots, and lengthy lines

This creates stress and anxiety, at which you can add the emotional turmoil of the season with all the family reunions we do because we are expected to. It is the inevitable and sometimes required spirit of the season.

We have been doing this for years and we will do it for more years to come even if on New Year’s eve we will swear that 2014 will be different than 2013, like 2013 was supposed to be different from 2012.

We also know the price we have to pay with our body: headache, stomachache, backache, fatigue, and bad sleep. Then we are irritable, unable to concentrate, and easily angry. We eat and drink too much, we spend too much, we talk too much, and all of it too fast. We will certainly start the New Year more weary and on edge than we will finish 2013. Can we continue like this until 2015?

It is time to slow down.

Take your time. Let Happy Slow Holidays be the motto of your season:

Happy slow eating and drinking: take the time to let your taste buds enjoy the flavors. It is not how much we swallow, but the quality of the food we take and the generous savors.

Happy slow spending: take the time to think about what Christmas is really about. What really matters- buying or sharing?

Happy slow conversations: take the time to listen and answer.

Happy slow motion: one step after the other is enough.

A day has 24 hours. Whether we run or walk, we will also have 24 hours to get to tomorrow. If we have the time to check our messages on our cell phone every other minute, then we can take five minutes to slowly do it.

Florence
Buoy Blogger