When we are depleted – physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually – we can feel imbalanced, confused, indecisive, grumpy, and all kinds of things that don’t feel productive. When we can’t take a day off or put aside the tasks at hand, we still can slow down and pause. But regaining energy is not a cognitive exercise – we have to integrate our entire self.
In this episode, we will pause, as we normally do, paying attention to all parts of us. I will integrate a few practices that can help us get into the present moment.
Listen:
Slowing down is….about lingering in the places we are not used to. Seeking out new questions. Becoming accountable to more than what rests on the surface. Seeking roots. Slowing down is taking care of ghosts, hugging monsters, sharing silence, embracing the weird…The idea of slowing down is not about getting answers, it is about questioning our questions. It is about staying in the places that are haunted.”
-Bayo Akomolafe, “A Slower Urgency: We Will Dance with Mountains”, taken from the book Crisis Contemplation by Barbara Holmes.
