I took a walk today. Slowly and deliberately breathing in the air, the breeze, the smell of early morning and the sound of silence before cars are zooming kids off to school. It helped that I had meditated with Oprah and Deepak before–so I was set on being mindful while I moved.
Then I saw him. A snail. Creeping on the brick wall, inching ever so slowly toward the flowers in the new spring bloom. I stopped. I stopped to watch a snail barely move. And I stayed watching him (or her?) for a good 30 seconds. And it seemed like an eternity. And I marveled at how little I slow down to watch the details of the life around me.
I make goals all the time. Not just at New Year’s or on Mondays or birthdays. I make them when it’s time to conquer a new fear, break an old pattern, or dig deeper into the journey of being me.
My goal right now is to create as many slow moments as I can. My life moves at the speed of hyper hustle and it’s been too long since I’ve slowed down long enough to watch a snail go about its business.
This made me insanely happy. And connected. And I’m pretty sure it will help my health in the long run. Not just the walking. The the being one with my world.
There is so much beauty to notice around us. So much life inching along.