Years ago, when I was experimenting with my sidetracked nature, I tethered myself to the post in the middle of a round oak table using a six-foot rope. I attached the other end to my ankle. I had a dust rag and Pledge and a basket for “put-aways,” so I could deliver them when I’d cleaned the circle within the radius of six feet. This was all for keeping me in one place until the cleaning was done in that place. (I’d gotten the idea from a goat that lived on a farm near me. She was also on a rope and had cleared a weed-ridden patch into a perfect circle that resembled a putting green.)
In a way that’s what having only one leg to use has done for me. It has caused me to slow down my “action” while my brain remains at its normal output of information. One example happens every time I leave one room to go to another (which I try to keep to a minimum). First I make sure I have a list of what I’ll be doing in the room I’m headed for; sort of like making a grocery list. So going from the living room to the kitchen, my list might read:
Glass of water
Get hamburger out of freezer
Make salad dressing for lunch
Grab some peanuts for a snack
Get cookbook to take back to living room
When I get my other leg back in three weeks, I certainly won’t be making a list like that each time I leave a room, but I’m gradually learning that just a little mindfulness as I move around my house achieves so much. AND consciously slowing down is a big deal! We could all slow down a little! Try this sometime today: STOP right in the middle of doing whatever it is that you’re doing and for one minute, see what you can do right there in the space you’re in. I've found usually there’s something to do right under my nose.
Yesterday, I caught myself humming a Simon and Garfunkel tune “Feeling Groovy,” so I Googled the lyrics and am sharing the first verse with you.
Slow down, you move too fast
You got to make the morning last
Just kicking down the cobblestones
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy
Of course I just had to write a verse of my own:
Slow down, just what’s your hurry
Go too fast and life gets blurry
Take more time to have some fun
Life is good when feeling’ groovy
What a perfect time of year to feel groovy! Maybe you can try feelin' groovy when you're at the bank, the grocery store, the gas station, in traffic, just start humming the chorus:
Doot-in doo-doo, feelin' groovy
Ba da da da da da da, feelin' groovy
I’ve always urged SHEs to “check your hands before they leave a room,” because often we unconsciously migrate clutter from one room to the other, now with just a little more awareness, coupled with slowing your body down, I hope you'll be surprised by how much you get accomplished!
Love,
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