When You Slow Down Enough

By Vince Gowmon

When you slow down enough
you no longer fear
the silence of space
and all it holds.

In embracing stillness
you discover that
which you never knew existed
or was possible,
and you meet
your Self
and life
perhaps
for the
very first time.

When you slow down enough
you finally
feel the feelings
and
hear the words
you have been avoiding
all these many years.

Those knocks on the door,
those peering eyes that
have been trying to
capture your attention
from the shadows,

the long lost dream
that once carried you away,
far away,
many moons ago.

When you slow down enough
you no longer fear
your aloneness.

You reflect on how
distractions
have conveniently kept you,
and others,
from the spaciousness
of the Self.

You understand how
lonely one can feel
in a crowded room
full of family and friends,
and how connected
one can feel
in the clear simplicity of
solitude.

When you slow down enough
you make it okay to say
No to others
so that you can say
Yes to You.

You love yourself enough
to make self-care a priority,
even if those around you
question why you are suddenly
less available,

even if your
guilty
pleasing
responsible mind
kicks and screams,
fearful you may
offend,
fearful you may
let someone down.

When you slow down enough
infinite treasures of
divine imagination
begin to fill
your heart and mind.

The fire of creativity speaks
through you
and consumes you
with joyful, playful delight!

Suddenly,
you are led along
unforeseen
artistic adventures,
your hand,
your brush,
your hammer,
taken,
and you are pulled into the
dance of co-creation,
into a new sense of
meaning and
purpose.

When you slow down enough
you make this moment enough.

You hear,
truly hear,
the soft pattering of rain drops
on the sidewalk.

You stop to take in the
strength and presence
of our magnificent trees
and stand in awe
at how they
majestically reach
for the skies.

You lose yourself
in a colorful bug,
just as you did
when you were a child.

You sit quietly on a log
with your eyes closed,
just you,
your breath,
and the air
caressing your skin.

This moment
when you make it enough
becomes a
long lost dear friend
that never left your side
that you
recognize and include
and appreciate
once again.

When you slow down enough
you let yourself be enough.

You release your firm grip
from your To-Do’s,
to settle into the softness
of your To-Be’s,

to muse with wonder
at what it is to be
a human being
living on this
green and blue orb
traveling
the Great Mystery
we call life,

to feel yourself
come home
back into your heart,
finally,
resting in the place
you have been circling,
the place
you have been searching for
all along.

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