Can you feel it? (and the Fourth Key revealed)

The thing about committing to slow living and being more present is that you tune in more, feel more, and that can be very challenging! The more time and space you create the more there is to discover in ever-increasing layers, like peeling an onion and wondering how many layers you need to remove before you throw the rest in the pan or salad.

I have been feeling like a few layers have come off and I’ve been tossed into the salad spinner for a few rounds then doused in dressing and served up! Served up for what, I would like to know. Just when you think you have a plan and a few things sorted so that you can make life a bit easier for yourself, whoosh, things change and you are challenged and tested as to how you will act.

In this year of slow living I have noticed that, when things go awry, the first wave of reactivity and blame and “why me” feelings get me nowhere and serve no one. When I observe that primal reaction and open to the absurdity of it, space flows in and it softens. In that softening I can respond and explore options. When I start exploring options and allow a bigger picture to emerge, when I let go of trying to control the outcome, amazing new opportunities open up.

This is like a micro version of the macro version of what is happening in our world, on our planet Earth. What we are being challenged with on a personal level is a reflection of what is happening on a global level. Our world is changing and it’s happening fast; this is what I can feel and when I stop long enough to explore that I can let go of needing a reason for things to not be the way I like them to be. It is not about us. It is about the greater good, the bigger picture, and when we can make space for that, let go of needing a reason for “why did this happen to me?”, we can take the personal out of the equation and get on with the next step.

This has led me to discovering another key to slow living, adaptability. When we can choose to adapt and be adaptable opportunities present themselves and we start to flow more easily with life and the challenges we face. We stop wasting energy on the why and what ifs and instead open up to the curious expansive world of creative opportunities.

When have you been adaptable? Or when have you dug your heels in and refused to change? If you recall an example for both of these questions I invite you to feel into your body. How does your body feel when you resist and refuse? How does it feel when you open to the option of adaptability? I encourage you to explore this key, adaptability, in relation to where you are right now, in your attitudes and thoughts, beliefs and habits, in the way you express yourself internally and externally in conversation with others.

Keep letting the layers come off and be adaptable to the occasional spin-out because the most useful thing we can do to contribute to the process our planet is going through is to become the best version of our true authentic self possible. The more peaceful, adaptable people we have in the world the better place it will become.

Namaste

Sarah