CHOOSE Joy in Slowing Down
Hello World and Happy November!
I can’t believe we are so close to the end of 2022 – what a year it has been! And I also can’t believe how utterly exhausted I feel. Not only has 2022 been quite the year, but the last five years since I moved to Wilmington and started the tenure-track; the last 10 years since I went back to school and transitioned to academia; and the last 15 years since moving back to the east coast to start a new chapter.
I’ve had a lot of movement, a lot of shifts, a lot of love, a lot of loss, a lot of achievement, a lot of goals, a lot of success, a lot of defeat. And I am tired.
So as we near the end of this year, but perhaps for many seasons to come, I am embracing slowing down.
I am embracing calmer, quieter moments where I lay in bed just a little longer to listen to the birds and watch the squirrels do what they do. I am embracing working until the work – my work – is done – versus finding new projects to start that send me on a path of endless movement. I am embracing quiet evenings in my home with a movie and glass of wine or fellowship with a small group of friends at a venue of our choice. I am embracing more travel, more peace, more ease, more joy, and more pleasure. And I am embracing folks who I believe were divinely sent to journey along with me in this season.
I am slowing the pace. I am taking time to not only “smell the roses” but plant and cultivate a few of my own. And as we near the holiday season, I am welcoming love in all the abundant and fulfilling ways I can.
In this season, I am choosing to SLOW DOWN. What does the year-end look like for you? What new practices are you cultivating?
Gwenda
YESSSSS, my Dear. I join with you in this Season of Rest and Restoration. I am also learning new ways to REST.
Kiesha
Great (and timely) reminder – as always Brina! While reading your post I kept asking myself, “how do we slow down”? My mind and schedule feels like it’s running a marathon with no slow down in site. Then it dawned on me after reading the words “choose” over and over in your post – that we choose it. And so my end of year will reflect me slowing down in my own schedule and also slowing down in all my roles….saying no to something’s and knowing that’s okay and saying some yes’ to that which refuels me and feeds my spirit.
Sabrina T Cherry
Thank you Kiesha! It means so very much when my posts reach the inboxes (and hearts) of the folks they need to. YES to choosing! And to allowing that choosing to remain flexible. What works for today or this week may not work for tomorrow, next week or even next month. But we can actively choose what it is that we desire from our days. What are our non-negotiables? What are the things we’ve begun to do out of obligation, because we “should?” When and where do we have space to relax, be still, unwind … breathe without filling the time with extra activity? And how can we POUR joy over all of this?
For me this looks like work fading more into the background and family + loved ones time coming more into the forefront. It looks like less measuring my value by achievement and more by how I love and show up for others. It means not packing my schedule and giving myself lots of grace to change my mind.
I hope you’re finding your space to slow down this week and *choosing* to come back to it each and every day, as often as needed. Love you!
Crystal Tribbett
Nice, I felt that.
Sabrina T Cherry
💜💜💜
Gwenda
Once again you have given me something to ponder on. I came to the conclusion that it takes energy for me to rest. A kind of energy that I am not always conscious of. The energy to pull myself away from all that excites and feeds my flesh requires energy. It is a constant struggle that I want to win. Rest is ordained by God. When I use the energy to pull myself into rest it is so rewarding.
Thanks Sunshine, sending you a warm hug.
Sabrina T Cherry
YES Mrs. Gwenda! We have this in common … going and going and going – not always because we have to, but because we are doing things we enjoy. But I am learning that in this busyness I am drowning out peace, stillness, and RESTORATION. I am also drowning out the necessary space I need to reflect and be clear about my next steps. Rest is absolutely ordained AND required by God. I am hoping you join me in leaning into more rest, more stillness, more quiet as we approach the winter season. Love you!
Gwenda
YESSSSS, my Dear. I join with you in this Season of Rest and Restoration. I am also learning new ways to REST.