When I try to push myself to do something, it feels like a crunch.
Everything is shoved together to get out the door, finish the project, cook a meal.
But that does not allow for the many refined layers buried within each activity to operate and to move smoothly.
When I was learning to play the cello, every motion had to flow into every other motion.
Once I could do that, over hundreds of repetitions, enough strength was built up to be able to do it faster and still have the same good quality throughout the movement.
Learning to talk, to walk, to get dressed, to read, to sew, to draw, to write, takes many, many small repetitions to build up the layers of skill to do all the connections smoothly.
So pressure only creates a pile up at the hardest points.
Allowing for each of the layers in a movement or a project to have enough room to operate smoothly, adds a much greater quality of enjoyment and excellence to the event.
We can breathe deeply to create a flow.
We can be inspired as we perform each step deliberately.
Instead of “hurry up”, the feeling is “be excellent”.
Simple operations, like holding a door for someone, allows them to move more gracefully.
Simple courtesies, such as a nod, acknowledge the welcome presence of another person.
My habits of hurry are dissolving as I observe the feeling of crisis I create.
It is not healthy to put my body under such stresses over and over again.
I am allowing for each layer in an activity to have the cushion and support I need, to feel calm and happy as I do it.
© 2017 Kathryn Hardage
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