I am writing to you from atop a mountain in Sundance, Utah. I’m staying in a little cabin, surrounded by trees, a sitting porch, mountain air, glittery stars, a half moon, and complete silence. Everyone in my family is asleep right now, and I can finally hear my own voice. I can feel my breath moving in my body and there is a sense of peace and quiet moving through me that I only feel when I find the space to slow down.
I’ve been reflecting on the energy and the buzz of American life right now, especially for us women. When I tap into the feeling (and it’s easy to do when I’m so far away), it seems like a hurricane. It feels like we are moving incredibly fast, hustling, driving around all day, trying to keep up with the pace of everyone else, striving to be the perfect wife, mom, and co-worker (or at least to create the illusion of being perfect). We feel the need to work out harder, get back to the body we had when we were 25 years old, and fit ourselves into an impossible mold. Our to-do list is too long, and our minds get caught in endless circles of should’s and have-to’s, constant judgments, and paralyzing fears. It’s hard to find space to simply be quiet and listen to our own voices.
What’s crystal clear to me as I sit atop this mountain is:
WE WERE NOT MEANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS.
First of all, we are women, and a woman’s true essence is the opposite of this hurricane feeling. We are meant to be in the flow of the rhythms of nature. We are meant to follow our intuition, be sensitive and responsive to the calls of life, trust our inner voices, and nurture ourselves. Our bodies want to be curvy and soft and voluptuous. We are not meant to be perfect; our imperfections are what make us stunning. We are wise, powerful, and have a deep inner knowing that can cut through judgements and fear.
AS I SIT ATOP THIS MOUNTAIN, IT IS CLEAR TO ME THAT LIFE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THIS HARD.
We’ve created a standard that is impossible to keep up with. We are so caught up in this hurricane that we think the antidote to this hardcore life is to go harder. Work more, exercise more, drive faster, say yes to more and more and more…
But what our bodies and hearts are screaming at us from underneath the noise and chaos is for us to
SLOW DOWN.
Slow down so we can actually hear our own voices. Slow down so we can feel our breath in our bodies, tap into our inner wisdom, and trust ourselves in middle of the hurricane. We need to slow down so our bodies can rest and restore, and we can move through life with clarity and ease.
IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE SO HARD.
The antidote to this hardcore life is to carve out space to slow down, listen, feel what we need to feel, and to ultimately accept all of who we are. Only then can the hurricane stop.
So, as we move into this summer, I want to invite you to carve out space to slow down.
