Looking back, I cannot recall a time where my life has been so much about learning about myself. Why don’t we do this when we’re young? It would save us so much time and trouble! We could make such better choices if we were just taught to “know thyself.” One of the things I am currently being taught, is that I have apparently never been much of a long-distance runner. I mean that in a metaphorical, spiritual sense. I am much more of a sprinter. Just about anything I undertake, I seem to plan on doing it immediately and as quickly as possible. “No time like the present!” is apparently my subconscious’ motto. Make a decision. Take action. Get it done.
But apparently the Divine has a new lesson for me. That lesson being “Slow and steady wins the race.” Or possibly also “Slow down and enjoy the journey.” Pick your metaphor, but I find myself once again feeling as though the Universe has its thumb on my head making me stop and experience life.
My dear friend and colleague, Heather Hildebrand, has been echoing my personal therapist in the opinion that maybe… just maybe… I might like to be free of this particular life lesson and stop having to learn it over and over again. My therapist calls it “allowing life to unfold.” Heather calls it letting go and just letting the Universe do its thing.
Same story just different words. And legit. And while “take your good sweet time” is the last thing a sprinter wants to hear, it is true that I would like to be free of this lesson. I also love to try to slow down time because every day feels as though the timespan between 4am and 8pm is approximately 3 hours.
For me, being out in nature is definitely a way to slow down time. It’s also a great way to process my own thoughts and my own understanding of who I am. And great companions for those endeavors would be nature’s angels, the fairies. So here I am—still learning, still trying, still occasionally resisting. But with every pause, every breath, and every step through nature, I remember that life isn’t a race. It’s a dance. And sometimes, the fairies lead.