When planets stop
These past few Olympic weeks, we’ve seen that the person with the fastest pace is the one who wins the race, or at least the medals. What we’ve also seen is that if the pace gets out of control, it can give you twisties-and twisties will break more than our hearts if they aren’t stopped.
It had me thinking quite a bit, about the paces we keep in our lives. No, I’ve never felt the weight that is required to earn Olympic medals; but well, I definitely understand how striving for world record perfection at obscene levels can break oneself. Understanding a healthy pace and living at that pace keeps us balanced for the podium called life.
Find your healthy pace.
If the planet stopped spinning, it’s said the mountains could fall, skyscrapers would plummet. Inertia would rip up concrete-the pull of gravity feeling stronger, the weight of ourselves more apparent. Everything you thought was a certain way would become blaringly obvious that it was so much different, its weight much heavier.
The fling of spinning speed would catch up with us, dropping us to our knees gasping for breath. I guess we would call it planet twisties.
When a pandemic forced us to pause last year, we felt the weight of how fast and out of control we were spinning. We thought that the earth had stopped spinning; when, in reality, no longer were we keeping up with the Joneses’, we were now forced to refeel the actual speed of the earth.
Eyes opened, the weight of our pace forced reflection. Some lamented and fought themselves. Some attempted to fight reality. We either longed for our former creature comforts or it spurred reflection. But here’s what I noticed. So many slowed their pace enough, took a guarded breath, and looked around.
They could imagine something better than a warped twisted pace. They no longer wanted speed, they craved meaning and depth.
When we slowed our paces, we were gifted something unseen for generations.
Nature emerged.
Wild deer felt safe enough to wander empty streets.
Dolphins cruised the canals of Venice.
The skies of Nepal were visually clear within a week.
Nature was essentially trying to undo what our twisted pace had done.
Nature doesn’t rush from point to point, it journeys.“Nature doesn’t draw a line without smudging it.” -Lorna Wing
Oh, the twisties? The best way to let them go is to take the foot off the gas pedal and dwell a bit. Shake the doubts, ignore the path that isn’t yours to walk, stay firmly planted on the one that is. After the fear has shaken off a bit, start walking again, relishing the success of each step. Once you’ve found your healthy pace, maintain.
𝘗𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘱𝘩𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘺 𝘏𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘳
