Photo by Jacob Dyer on Unsplash

Greetings from COVID quarantine, aka my basement. While it’s not how I envisioned spending my first week back from family vacation, I’m just thankful to be feeling alright. It’s also given me some time to think about slowness and stillness.

Whenever you’re forced to slow down, it provides an opportunity for reflection. However, as the folk band Head and the Heart shared, those moments tend to be few and far between in our daily lives.

But the sun will still be coming up soon 

The world's just spinning a little too fast 

If things don't slow down soon, we might not last 

So just for a moment, let's be still

The Head and the Heart - Let’s Be Still

When your world’s just spinning a little too fast, you need to make time to be still. 

Stillness allows you to pause and reflect on where you’re at right now and where you want to be in the future. Only then can you prioritize what matters most while letting go of the “urgent,” but actually unimportant things that stand in your way.

While stillness will help unlock what matters most to you personally, it’s equally important to unlock the same in your partner and/or your family. Rather than you all getting on the boat and rowing in different directions, stillness provides the opportunity to come up with a shared destination that respects what everyone individually values. And when you’re on the same page about where you’re headed, the family boat stops going in circles.

So rather than waiting for life to force you to slow down, make the time to be still. You’re the captain of this ship so take this opportunity to lead it.