Why you need to slow down as much as I do [001]

Slow down. 

This 2016 has been a weird year so far.

It’s been about the usual stuff – crazy family life, balancing work, the house and the children. About routines and the ordinary things, but it’s also been odd.

It’s been about change, about learning something new about myself, and about accidents and revelations. And it’s been about The Universe sending me a few messages (mainly in quite a harsh way) that things were not sustainable the way they were and something had to change.

So bear with me and I’ll tell you about the day I smashed my head against a bus window, and about how I started to give the concept of mindfulness a little bit more consideration and thought than before.

I’ll tell you about the day I was compared to ‘the opposite of a Buddhist monk who spends his day in meditation’ (whatever the opposite to that is!)

I’ll tell you about the fact that I decided to hand in my notice at work.

And I’ll even tell you about the day I broke my leg and about how hard accepting, changing and adapting has been. And if you want, I’ll even tell you about how you can go from running around your children to running your children’s lives from a sofa.

This year has taught me that it’s time to slow down.

In fact, this year has taught me it’s time to stop.

So, together, let’s look up, breathe and change.

Life is way too hectic – balancing everything and being on top of it all is way too hard.

It might take time and effort, but it’s time to stop trying to be perfect and super-human. It’s time to stop wanting to do it all and recognise that we all just need to SLOW DOWN, for our sake and the sake of everyone else in our families.

I know there are a lot of people in my situation – we are all trying to do it all and be the best parents we can be. We want to be better, calmer, more serene, more present, and stop worrying about the never-ending to-do list. Because the truth is that we’ll never really get on top of it, but while we’re busy stressing about the daily chores and dramas, our children are growing up, and we don’t want to miss it. We may not be able to stop it, but we can slow it down, because we’ve all heard the saying ‘the days are long but the years are short’, and I don’t know about you, but I’m really starting to feel that, and I don’t like it one bit.

And if you’re anything like me, and if your daily routines feel as crazy as mine do, slowing down isn’t always an easy task. It’s one that requires a tremendous and conscious effort at first, but, who knows, maybe it’ll get easier?

Help me help you!

So this is my way of making myself do it – this blog is the way to help me find practical, day-by-day ways to:

• learn something new,
• learn to take it easy,
• accept that we are doing the best that we can (and practice self-kindness!),
• take steps to do something for yourself (as well as everyone else in your family).

This is a place to talk about family and parenting. About slowing down, worrying less and living more ‘in the moment’. In order to do this, I know I have to introduce some real changes in my life, and I believe you can’t change without new input and information.

Like I say, The Universe has provided me with some serious food for thought this year. So I’m taking the rest into my own hands. It’s time to read, share and do. It’s the start of a journey for me, and I hope you’ll want to share it with me. So I’ll try to test things out. And I’ll share them with you. But let’s do this together, as I can’t do it without your input. You can tell me what YOU’RE doing, what’s working for you, and you can help me make the changes I need and make them stick.

Today is day 1.