S.L.O.W.

In a moment of frantic energy and chest pounding overstimulation, I took a deep breath and remembered something a stranger at the checkout counter of a sporting goods store once said to me:

 “Just slow down, son.”

I was a young dad with my 7 and 3 year old children in tow when a seed was planted in my heart that continues to change my life.  I was taking them camping and needed to buy some water toys.  As I reached to pull out my wallet to pay, I found an empty pocket.  Shit. I must have left it in my car. 

We were already running late and I was fully submerged in the cortisol of stress and urgency. “I don’t have time for this!” I told myself as I started for the door. (Of course, running late in this instance was entirely arbitrary. I wanted to get to the campsite by a time I had chosen for probably no other reason than because that seemed like a good time to get there.)

When I got to the door I looked down at my hand. And because this has likely happened to you too, you know that my wallet had been in my hand the whole time! 

Embarrassed, I walked back to the counter with my three year old in my arms and my seven year old running behind.  And that’s when I heard the gentle words of wisdom from a kind hearted dad whose teenage son was standing next to him.

He spoke to me in a slow, meditated tone, “Just slow down, son”.  With compassion and understanding oozing on each syllable, he helped me to calm my nervous system and gently planted the seed.

Many years later, in another stressful hurry, I recalled this moment in my life and felt a little of that calm wash over me.  “Slow down, son.” I slowed my pace, took some deep breaths and felt a little better. But this time I also wondered, "How can I build this slowing down into my life so that I’m more likely to live from its wisdom on a daily, moment by moment way?"

I decided to see if I could come up with an acronym of simple action steps to help me slow down.  Quite intuitively, these words tumbled out of me.

STOP LOOK OBSERVE WONDER

It’s really quite intuitive isn’t it!  So intuitive that when I later told my friend Daniel that I had an acronym for SLOW he said, “What is it?  Stop, listen, observe, wonder?” without missing a beat! (Just one word different from mine.) I was a little annoyed at first, because I suddenly didn’t feel so creative after all.  But when it turned into teasing each other about who would get the copyrights first, I realized the magic wasn’t in a novel idea, but in the fact that it is so very simple, intuitive and easy to remember.  Maybe you have a version of your own already too!

I’ll end with a short description of how I define these four movements. 

STOP

Whatever it is that you’re doing, whether physical or mental; work or play, push the pause button on it for just a moment. It will probably be helpful to physically stop what you’re doing.

LOOK/LISTEN

Scan your environment.  Look around and see what is around you. Or, if you prefer, close your eyes and listen to what reaches your ears. Look or listen until something catches your attention.

OBSERVE

Whatever it was that caught your attention, zero in on that and take a closer look.  Listen a little longer. Go on observing until your curiosity or amazement is stirred.

WONDER

Taking it one step deeper, what questions start to surface for you? Get curious and “Wonder” what else there is to know.  Simultaneously, allow your sense of awe and “Wonder” to grow at what you see, hear and discover.

Practicing going SLOW on a regular basis will begin to train your brain to experience the world differently.  You may just find yourself moving more slowly and purposefully through your day. When you move SLOW, you will likely discover that life is a little more enjoyable.