I wrote this thing a few years ago... it's all about going slow...
I thought I would create a space for us to share our favourite go-slow moments. I am a very big fan of the go-slow movement. Too often in this hectically paced day and age, where attention spans number in the seconds or minutes, we are missing out on the wonderful world of minutiae around us. By choosing quantity over quality, we are doing ourselves and those around us a great disservice.
And so, I decided it's time for us to slow things down a tad, and take some moments out of our busy lives to smell the roses, feel the warmth of the sun on our skin, and contemplate the wondrous world around us.
I would like to start by sharing a great time I had today, a time of almost mystical proportions, certainly a spiritually uplifting and replenishing time. I am in the process of selling my old house. I love this house, or, more specifically, I love the back garden. There's a brick paved courtyard, with a big old sandstone bluff separating the courtyard from the top part of the yard. There are two decent sized ponds in the courtyard, one of which has an old Koi carp whose name is Tony (respect to Tim Minchin for that). He swims around lazily, fat old friend that he is.
This courtyard is one of my favourite places on Earth, mostly because it is always teeming with life. Sit still for two minutes (hey, who does that these days, huh?) and all of the little critters come out to play. I sat still this fine sunny day, with the warmth and promise of Spring filling my heart with joy, and surveyed my courtyard for perhaps the last time before the house sells. A hint of sadness tinged my mood, but this place will soon be someone else's special place, so my mood lifted. I am happy to move on, and leave this for another to discover.
I sat perfectly still for 15 minutes. In that time, I saw a Diamond Python, only a wee bub about a metre long and as thick as your thumb, sunning itself on the pavers. It turned to look at me, head slightly raised, and some 5 minutes later, leisurely slithered off into the undergrowth by the lower pond. I saw 7 or 8 Water Skinks of various sizes, flitting around, interacting with each other, catching flies, sunning themselves, doing the head bobbing thing that they do. I saw a Dragonfly come to rest on the Mondo grass by the pond, then alight and fly off, sun glinting on its diaphanous wings. I saw a shy Whip Bird (the male, with his white peak) hop into the top pond and have himself a merry little bath for 2 minutes, then go hopping off in search of his mate, who I heard call to him. The males and females have very different calls - the male has the classic Pheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-whip call, and the female has this wonderfully musical and intricate whistle. Often you hear the two calling to each other, the male first, then the female answering without a pause, so it sounds like one long bird call. I mimicked the male whistle, and the female answered. I bet that confused and flustered the male somewhat. Huh! Competition!
My senses heightened, as I gave myself over fully to the experiences and sensations that they brought me, and I focussed on each one in turn. Sights, sounds and scents came to me in gentle cascades, each one bringing with it new wonders, new depths of appreciation, complex and at the same time oh so very simple. The supposedly mundane, so easily missed when rushing to cram our days with frantic activity, filled me to the brim with a deep and abiding joy.
I saw two Butterflies (sorry, don't know what kind - the orange and black ones), flapping delicately around the ponds. I heard a frog croak once. The Wattle Birds cackled all around - phew phew phew hee ka ka ka. A Kookaburra laughed in the distance. The constant rustle of leaves in the undergrowth reminded me that there is oh so much more going on than I can or will ever see.
The hurried studiousness of ants drew patterns of unseen paths across the pavers. The constant buzzing of flies played the basso continuo role in this wonderful natural symphony. The wind gently rustled the leaves of the trees all around. The gentle perfumes of a dozen different types of flowers wafted through the air sluggishly, toying with my nostrils, filling them with wondrous scents and hints of Spring's explosion and profusion, soon to get into full swing. The sun felt so very warm and inviting, bringing on a deep relaxed state. The spiders' webs, swaying gently in the breeze, caught the sunlight and turned to delicate diamond tendrils.
I feel at peace, just now, more so than I have in a very long time. I am content with my existence, and in tune with the natural rhythms around me, those slow rhythms that remind me there is only now, no yesterday, no tomorrow, only the glorious and wonderful now moment in which to live life to the fullest.
By simply taking the time to open all of my senses to the wonders around me, I have found a deep and glorious peace. I want to share this peace, this wonder, with all of you, and I fervently hope that you all can find some time to go slow and enjoy your own mystical moments.
So, please, feel free to post details of your special moments with us all, so that we may share in that special bond that we all have, with each other and with the world around us. Peace out, dudes and dudettes. Happy vibes beaming out to one and all. 🙂
