The more we progress, the busier we get.

Sometimes we overlook what is naturally beautiful, what should really be important to us.

We have forgotten the little things that can make us happy and healthier. We would rather sit down in front of the computer or television to be entertained, when there is a vast world out there waiting to be explored.

Go out and smell the roses. Admire what God had created. Feel the wind as it gently embraces and cools you down. Inhale; exhale!

Slow down and notice.

“Slow me down, Lord!”

Below is some sort of prayer, which is a good reminder why we should slow down and take stock.

“Slow me down, Lord!
Ease the pounding of my heart
By the quieting of my mind.
Steady my hurried pace
With a vision of the eternal reach of time.
Give me,
Amidst the confusion of my day,
The calmness of the everlasting hills.
Break the tensions of my nerves
With the soothing music of the singing streams
That live in my memory.
Help me to know
The magical restoring power of sleep.
Teach me the art
Of taking minute vacations of slowing down
to look at a flower;
to chat with an old friend or make a new one;
to pat a stray dog;
to watch a spider build a web;
to smile at a child;
or to read a few lines from a good book.
Remind me each day
That the race is not always to the swift;
That there is more to life than increasing its speed.
Let me look upward
Into the branches of the towering oak
And know that it grew great and strong
Because it grew slowly and well.
Slow me down, Lord,
And inspire me to send my roots deep
Into the soil of life’s enduring values
That I may grow toward the stars
Of my greater destiny.”

– ORIN L CRAIN

Calm is the basis of right perception and understanding.
– Thich Nhat Hanh