A Promise to The Little Things in Life | Life Love and Hiccups: A Promise to The Little Things in Life
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Monday 20 January 2014

A Promise to The Little Things in Life

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When you are quiet you see the sounds you normally only hear in a distracted kind of way and the little things in life are given the chance to be truly magical....

No I haven't gone all mysterious and enigmatic on you, it's just a thought that came into my head the other day. I've been running in slow mo these past few weeks, working half days and spending time with the kids whilst they are on holidays. Nothing has been urgent... actually that's not entirely true, but I have been choosing to pretend like it's not.

We've just been taking things slow, well slower than normal and I really like it. Like really REALLY like it and I have seen more sounds than I have in a long time.

I gave myself up until today to sort of take a break from the rushing around of working, blogging and organising stuff - you know the normal stuff that you have to do day in and day out to run a home and family and keep everyone organised. And it's only today as I get back into the swing of things that I realise just how much I have enjoyed living life at a slower pace.

It struck me the other day as I was lying on the beach relaxed,  in a complete vegetative state and possibly even drooling - kids really have it all figured out. 

They are fast when they want to be fast and slow when they want to be slow and they are not ashamed of either direction they choose to take.

I watched a group of kids about 6 or 7 who were gathered in a group at the water's edge talking about something they had in their buckets. You could see they were were clearly discussing an idea when suddenly they all bolted off in the direction of God knows what. Wherever they were going, they were excited and were running there with not a minute to waste.

When the parents whistled for their return, they slowly and painfully trudged back up the beach much to the frustration of the parents who were obviously waiting to go.

Kids are good at prioritising at what they do or don't give their energy too.

Take for example, have you sat and watched your kids when they spy the ice cream van, get an idea to do something really cool, or have been given permission to eat the chocolate bar you had stashed in the back of the fridge behind the jalapenos? 

They literally run to wherever or whatever has got them excited. They don't waste time acting all cool calm and collected, they wear their joy proud and just dive into what ever it is that has sparked their interest.

On the contrary, when they don't want to do something, they move at whatever damn pace they feel like and no one and nothing can speed them up. 

They aren't shy about telling you if they don't like something or don't want to do something. Think about how slow they are at putting shoes on when you need to go to school, how long they take to unpack the dishwasher or how their eyes glaze over and they stare off into space when you start talking about responsibilities etc etc and you'll get exactly what I mean.

When they are tired they just stop. 

They are all "That's it, Wham Bam, thanks for coming, that's all you're gonna get out of me today" yadayadayada. They don't care if the back lawn is still covered in dog poo, or their animal habitat project isn't finished. 

They stop and just like that they are done, Goodnight.


I like that type of honest approach to life. 

I know as a grown up you can't really get away with chucking a tanty because you don't want to wait in line at the post office, and you can't rock up late to a meeting because you kind of got distracted by a spot of shopping and a lazy latte. I get that its not entirely appropriate to do cartwheels in the middle of a shopping centre when your husband offers to buy you a Mr Whippy milkshake, but I do know I can be a little more assertive about the pace in which I allow myself to travel through life.

I can choose to wear my joy for all to see and run at the things in life that make me happy.

I can choose to give less energy to the things that weigh me down and give more to the things that make me happy.

I can choose to stop and rest when I'm exhausted instead of pushing myself to the brink and I can choose to slow down and relish the special moments in life, the ones that are good for my soul.

If the slower pace I've been living this past month has taught me anything, it is that from now on I WILL give those little things in life, the ones I am usually too busy to see or hear in more than a distracted way, the chance to be truly magical.

Are you currently running at a million miles and hour or are you seeing the sounds around you?