2014 is off to a roaring start, days moving faster than ever.  I’ve been thinking about this “fast pace”, well, hanging out with it, is a better description.  It’s not that I mind the galloping – frankly, most days, it’s exhilarating.  It feels like the

“Speed of Life”

We Check-in and Check-out,
Tweet and Text;
Post and Email,
Then, wonder “What’s next?”

We Stream and Record,
Subscribe and Delete;
Wanting to share
when all is complete.

So much going on,
Even more to do;
Who else can we friend?
If only we knew.

Going faster and faster
is the way of the day,
Until the moment arrives
we can no longer play.

The quiet is calling,
it’s voice soft and sweet,
“It’s time to rest and
find our retreat.”

We live in a fast pace world at the speed of our humanness. And, it all works fine, until the moment we crash into our human speed. We know these moments well – a night’s rest, 5 minutes of meditation, a walk in the park, a deep breath.

At our human speed, we naturally, effortlessly…..Listen to our heartbeat dance with our breath…..Feel, deeply, the experience of our life….. Laugh and cry, dream and regret.

At this speed, we remember. “Having loved and lost is better than never having loved at all.” (Tennyson). And we find the courage to open our heart and love more.

At this speed, we remember. “If you truly love yourself, you could never hurt another.” (Buddha). And we go deeper within to understand, forgive; to laugh and to love.

At this speed, we remember. “Be your name Buxbaum or Bixby or Bray or Mordecai Ali Van Allen O’Shea, you’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting. So… get on your way!” (Dr. Seuss). And we return to the world.

When we  return – from our breath, our walk, meditation, night’s rest – we are re-connected. The fast pace and our human speed.

We feel the heartbeat of our friend who just sent the text….

We taste our breakfast, feeling its nourishment replenish our body for the day.….

We read the news feeds, connecting with others’ stories, as if they are our own. The world and us – two speeds converging into one.

We join spokes in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the inner space
that makes it livable.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.

tao te ching #11

Happy Rolling, Shaping and Hammering…. At your speed of humanness.

Kathleen