Slow down the River #2 (and New Products!)

Slowing Down the River Part 2

Nothing like writing an article on keeping it together in the midst of keeping it together. Writing to you accelerates me. Last week went pear-shaped. Flat batteries (yes, 3 of them), a sick kid (fine now), another bar code fail (getting ridiculous now), and a dead hen (killed by a hawk) and a hen funeral. And hard deadlines that did not fit in school hours

It was after the week that I added number 5 to my spiritual practices. And number 7 to the kids' ones. When you read them I hope you'll laugh in recognition.

Here are my top 5 spiritual practices for Slowing down the River, aside from meditating:

1) All is well
I remind myself that I am in the care and flow of a Great Heart and that regardless of what my rushing woman has to say about the situation, actually, ALL is WELL. And it is.

2) Thank you
I love the gifts that come each day. These days of focus bring the sharpest moments of beauty and blessing. Acknowledge the miracles that unfold around you. Acknowledge the support that comes through in so many different levels and ways. You are so loved.

3) Listen
There are a thousand whispers that become quite loud if you but stop for a moment. Think you've got 7 steps to do, and too busy to stop and listen? Well, if you listen, 4 steps will get handled by the wisdom and clarity you gain. In this case, slow is fast.

4) Well done
Don't wait for someone to tell you. Tell yourself. You are working with great awareness, trust, and openness to your beautiful life. You make mistakes, and you keep learning, and you show up with your best version of you in every moment. Well done.

5) Expression
For those of you who have been around me for a while, you'll pretty much know this means VENT. Give your voice some room to run. Words, song, or just pre-verbal sound. Sometimes you feel crap. IT's ok to say it. Do a quick list of I feels. Be careful not to dive into the story side of it. You don't have to say why or because. Just, I feel tired. I feel stressed. I feel angry. You'll be surprised as to how much shifts once it's been said.

Here are my top 7 kid things for Slowing down the River:

1) Read more to the kids
We get to bed earlier, quieter (mostly), and read together for ages. This gives me lots of cuddle time with them. And they love it.

2) Bake together
Somewhere on the weekend, we bake. It's a great treat for us on the weekend, and then I snaffle some of it for kid lunches during the week as well (which always makes me smile when I add it to their lunches).

3) Do a puzzle
This was my Mom's way for herself and us as kids, and it's a good one. We've had a 500 piece puzzle set up on our lounge table for weeks. Every couple of days we all get together and work on it for a few minutes. It slows everyone down.

4) Tell the good
I make an extra focus to tell my kids I adore them, to hear what they say, to thumbs up the good stuff. When they feel good and heard and loved, they act SO much better. And guess what? That's so much easier for all of us.

5) Let them Contribute
We have Chef Night (the kids are the chef one night a week), Family After Dinner Tidy Up (a couple of nights a week), Breakfast for Dinner Night (they giggle).

6) Weekends
I don't forward my e-mails to my phone, pick them up over the weekend or do anything other than look for a Surf's Up YouTube song that the kids want to listen to. The kids know I am theirs, and I know I am coasting, letting my mind cool down.

7) Tell it Like it Is
Sometimes, a deadline pushes into kid time. Then I explain what's happening and give a time frame. Sometimes it goes down fine, and sometimes they are right little monkeys about it. But, yep, sometimes it's just that way.

I had another insight into the 'river' and the speed and stress in which we choose to live. Sometimes slowing down the river really does feel like pushing the river. In those moments there's nothing to do but wait for the river to slow down on its own. And it will.

John's back home and I'm now more free to pick up the business focus. Can I still keep it slow? I will, to the best of my ability. And I invite you to join me.

From You

'Hi Becky. Wanted to say how much I enjoyed slow down the river. Really made me think and breathe. I have shared with other harried women. The cherry on the top though, was the moonrise video. Left me speechless and that is saying something! Had some girlfriends over for dinner last weekend and we all watched and then went outside to await our moon. Not as spectacular as yours but very serene and lovely in its own way.' C from Alabama

ps