Slowing Down
The road of life twists and turns and no two directions are ever the same.
Yet our lessons
come from the journey,
not the destination.
– Don Williams, Jr.
I remember a story I heard long ago about a man who had worked hard all his life and finally earned enough money to take his dream vacation. He wanted to go on a Safari to a remote part of Africa. So he hired porters to carry his camera, camping and hunting gear and headed off across the Serengeti. He only had 10 days scheduled and after looking at the map saw, that if he hurried they could probably reach their destination, the elephant mating grounds, in 3 days, just in time for the start of mating season. So the first day he was up at the crack of dawn, waking up the Africans he had hired to carry all his equipment, saying “come on we have to get moving. Let’s get everything packed up.” They started out their journey at break-neck speed. All day long he pushed them to move faster with their heavy loads under the hot African sun...
At the end of the first day the men collapsed after setting up tents and making dinner.
But, the man was unhappy because they had only covered about three quarters of the
distance planned and were behind schedule. The man was very frustrated and the next
morning he woke up hours before dawn and started rallying the men to pack up and get
moving. Amidst much grumbling he finally got them packed and moving, practically
running across the desert, only stopping for short water breaks. The men were exhausted
by the end of the day and collapsed again after setting up camp. The man was still not
happy as they were still way behind schedule and he vowed to get up even earlier the
next morning...
The next day he was awake very early and went around yelling and beating on the tents to wake up the sleeping porters to no avail. They took their time finally arising, then sat having breakfast and telling stories. The man became quite frustrated and started yelling, "Come on, we are going to be late, we have to get moving..." An old black tribesman with a gray beard sitting against a tree weaving a piece of rope looked up slowly and said, "Boss we’re not going anywhere today. We are going to take a break to let our spirits catch up with us."
We live in a moment of history where change
is so speeded up that we begin to see the
present
only when it is already disappearing.
– R. D. Laing
This is where I find myself on the eve of 9/11. It is clear to me that I need to slow down
and let my Spirit catch up with me… For many years I have pushed myself to keep up
the escalating pace of life around me. But, having just returned from a backpacking trip,
where I injured my back, trying to carry too much load, I realized that it is time to slow
down and go deeper into the journey. I am interested in focusing my attention and
becoming more present to the monumental changes unfolding, changes that will impact
every part of our lives, culture and society. My time in the High Sierras brought me back
to what is really important in life – friends, nature and presence – so I am attempting
to adjust my life to be slower, more contemplative and focused on the things that are
important to me.
Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I don’t know exactly what this will look like, but one outcome is that The Well of Light will become a quarterly e-magazine, instead of monthly. I appreciate all of you who have supported this publication for the past 10 years and I will continue to write and compile stories and shows for a quarterly publication.
What I feel is needed most in the world right now is clarity of vision and direction.
We have an opportunity to create “heaven on earth” or continue in the direction we are
headed – towards an earthly hell. There is always a choice. In spite of the probable future
it seems we are creating, our choices can lead to new, currently unimagined possible
futures. I hope you will join me in slowing down and letting your Spirit catch up with
and guide you. It looks to me like The Great Turning is calling for a great slowing down and going inward to the part of ourselves that recognizes that we are a part of and not separate from nature and all life...
In Love and Light I send you blessings,
michael
There is more to life than increasing its speed.
Mohandas K. Gandhi
