Michelle, a running coach, approached me. “What about a weekly walking group for cancer survivors and caregivers?” she said. Michelle’s class was officially named Walking for Wellness, and honestly, it helps me slow down.
My part as Survivorship Coordinator at the St. Charles Cancer Center was that of trail sweep—to pace myself with the slowest walker so no one got left behind.
In all the years, I didn’t lose a single participant. But I repeatedly failed as sergeant-at-arms (if the role of sergeant-at-arms means ensuring good behavior in public).
Just last week, the group commandeered a pirate ship in a playground along the river. And in the process, we drove a few kiddos away. Oops.
Slow isn’t my normal speed. I walk quickly, type quickly, clean house quickly, stack wood quickly. It’s been good for me to slow down and enjoy the pace and camaraderie of the Walking 4 Wellness posse.
Iain Thomas shares this thought:
And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’ And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No. This is what’s important.’
As we yank our hands back from the urgencies and pressures, there are plenty of things worth slowing down for. In no particular order, consider these five a start:
1. Outdoor physical activity. “Slow and meandering with multiple photo stops” is par for the course with the Walking-4-Wellness group. And then there’s lingering over coffee and Chai tea afterward as deep friendships are forged.
What if we could engage in a slow, outdoor physical activity that would allow us to smell the roses along the path and refuel our spirits in the process?
2. Our people. When cancer caused my husband, Gary, to begin losing speed, I put away my to-do lists and slowed down with him. Reflective conversations. Playing Words with Friends. Reading or knitting as he dozed in the hospital bed in the living room. Relishing one more day with my beloved.
What if we determined to slow down for our spouses, children, and extended families and friends because there’s no guarantee they’ll be with us tomorrow?
3. Gardening. By its nature, gardening is a slowing-down event. As a cancer widow, I live in a beautiful little guest house on the side of a steep hill. My garden currently exists of one hanging flower basket. And although it doesn’t take me long to water and pinch off the dead flowers, after a recent discussion with a friend, I’ve been slowing down and drinking in the pleasure of tending to my garden. It’s not simply one more thing to check off my to-do list, but one more way to relish the simple joys of life.
What if we planted one container—one herb pot, one hanging basket, one leafy houseplant—and in tending to it, we were actually tending to our own souls?
4. Cooking. My beautiful little guest house has a tiny kitchen with a plug-in hotplate, toaster oven, and small fridge tucked beneath the counter. But for Christmas Eve last year, I was in a vacation rental with a full kitchen. And what fun it was to slow down in the kitchen and spend some time cooking for friends who would be arriving later that evening.
What if we prepared something special for someone, not a required meal, but something unexpected and out of the ordinary and made in love? And what if that ended up feeding us as well – physically, emotionally, and spiritually?
5. Reading, journaling, contemplating with gratitude. I love to brew a mug of tea. Grab a good book. Sit somewhere outdoors. Read. Contemplate life. Contemplate God and His creation. Capture my thoughts in writing. Add to my gratitude list.
What if something as simple as reading and capturing our thoughts in writing refilled us to once again have enough love and service to pour out on others?
Nanea Hoffman shared this thought:
Note to self: When you are whizzing through your day and your body is full of stress, a good way to slow your galloping mind is to take one moment to be thankful, even for a tiny goodness. Gratitude anchors you to the present. Then you can jump back into your regularly scheduled chaos with a bit of calm in your heart.
Yes, things need to get done. Our loved ones need to be tended to. Meals need to be prepared, bills paid, and appointments kept.
As surely as we need to do things, what if we could also take time to simply be?
The ultimate words on slowing down come from Jesus:
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. – Matthew 11:28
What if we could simply be still in God’s presence, be in a book, in an art project, in a leisurely FaceTime conversation, be in the music, in the daydreaming, in the journaling? What if we could simply be with the people we love because—speaking from experience—we won’t have them with us forever?
A cancer widow, speaker, and award-winning writer, Marlys’ spare time is filled with hiking, snowshoeing, sipping tea, and knitting. She has a passion for repurposing old junk into cool new stuff, and an even deeper passion for showing people how God loves to scoop up the shatters of our broken dreams and create new purpose.
Great ways to slow down. Gardening can be so healing. During a hard time in my life it helped me slow down and heal. One has lots of time to think and ponder and pray while gardening. And getting outside, always helps my mood for the positive.
Agreed and very well written- I also find it helpful to think with an eternal mindset. When you free yourself from being so tied down to life on this Earth and its woes it makes you feel lighter 🙂