Walk, Don’t Run

On embracing a year of slow

There was a time not long ago when amidst the hustle of the holiday season, I gladly took refuge in sitting at my desk and carefully setting goals for the new year. It was the calm before the storm because as soon as January came around, it was time to go go go. The beginning of the year marked a fresh start to improve, get ahead, and win — but what was I winning?

I was the unlucky recipient of burnout. Yay me.

I’m sure we’ve all been on the receiving end of this at some point, am I right? But because burnout is not all that generous, it mostly takes more than it gives. 

For me, it takes away the things in my life that make me feel most alive — my inner peace and calm, the ability to be playful and spontaneous, and fascination with the world around me — just to name a few.

This year, instead of sprinting down the fast track to burnout, I am choosing to go slow. To walk the scenic route at a leisurely pace, and in an unpredictable fashion. With one foot in front of the other. 

Let’s give ourselves (and others) permission to take our time, and dare I say, go with the flow. Let’s lean into openness and embrace the unplanned interruptions that fill our days — even if it means we have to reheat our coffee a questionable number of times. 

Rather than doing all the things as if we’re running a race, let’s place our focus on building our resiliency. And the simple act of noticing. Shifting our attention to our surroundings, and immersing ourselves in the here and now. Finding enchantment wherever we go, wherever we are. 

And with that, I raise my reheated mug of coffee to say, cheers! May this be the year to unhurry ourselves and go slow. To walk, and not run.

This post is part of a blog hop with Exhale—an online community of women pursuing creativity alongside motherhood, led by the writing team behind Coffee + Crumbs. Click here to view the next post in the series "Cheers!".