Slowing down

Normally, we do not so much look at things as overlook them.
--Alan Watts

As we live our very busy lives we might say, "How full and rich my life is!" But are we stopping long enough to look, to take in experiences, digest them, and grow from them? Or is our attention always focused upon the next event? Are we running from one thing to another, never truly being present in the current moment?

For spiritual deepening, many of us men do not need to enrich the events in our lives as much as we need to simplify and quiet ourselves. We need to slow down and look at what is here. At a banquet, we might appreciate a few fine foods served in a tranquil atmosphere more fully than a lavish variety served in a frenzied atmosphere. For today, we are not able to stop the hectic pace of the world, but we can slow ourselves down and notice and reflect upon our experiences. Then they will have meaning and value for us.

Today, I will slow down. I will notice what my experiences are and give myself time to look.

[NOD]

It seems that the more clean time I got the more complicated my life has become. When I was using my main focus was, for the most part, drugs. In recovery I have found a peace that I never knew existed in my life. Yet I have also found the pace of my life has become, at times, overwhelming to say the least.
As I struggle to find a happy medium I find more and more that need to just slow down and smell the roses, so to speak. As I have grown in recovery so have I grown in responsibility. Doing the things that I should have been doing all along. While this has brought a great sense of self worth, it has also begun to take it's toll on me as a recovering addict. Finding the time to do the things that got me to where I am today have sometimes been pushed to the back burner to accomidate others. While trying to be generous with my time while not spreading myself too thin I can see how I might be looking a little too far ahead and focusing on the next event.
Living for the moment and taking in the present is task that I seem to take for granted. Thanks for the reminder that I need to try to keep a balance in my life.
Too many of us are want to see the end result without stopping to enjoy the jpurney.
Jerry