Flying Above the Rest
Last week sitting on a plane at 30,000 feet flying in between gigs, I was exhausted and excited. Running at a high level of energy takes a toll, but most often I don’t let people see that low-key side. I try to schedule my downshift time to be when I’m driving, on the way to asleep, or on a light jog. This allows me time to recharge and refocus on upcoming moments.
During these moments, I’m concentrating on slowing down my breathing, letting my mind simplify, and drifting away. No, I’m not going so far that I’ll drive off the side of the road. I leave that to the drivers talking on their phone while putting on make up and making a lane change. It’s just that moment of stopping and looking around. Even on my drive home from the office I’ve started to notice more buildings. I could spend even more time about observing habits of other drivers, but that’s for another day.
People talk about life moving fast all around us. That depends on your perception. Can you choose to be influenced by a fast-paced life which can overtake your way of thinking. If you acknowledge that you have control over this, you will find more stability in the way you live. In fact, you will even find ways to accomplish more.
Wait? Didn’t I just say slow down and stop living fast-paced? Why am I saying to do more? You can simplify almost any situation. The reason to do this is so that you can think more clearly.
Picture the movie the Matrix. In one scene, Neo stops and looks around. He really starts to take in the details, watching people move at their pace through life, doing what they believe is normal. If you concentrate, you can focus on the blur of life and notice patterns. You will see images and be able to put the message together. It reminds me of the days (I am not that old!) when a tv channel was scrambled. You could still make out some of the picture and if you tune everything else out, a show could be threaded together. These days, the expectation is that if we can’t have it spoon fed to us or get it immediately, then we move on.
Here’s the key … you don’t have to go fast to get it done. Sometimes going slower gets you there faster.
