Slow Openings

Slow Openings

Accepting that we have and will experience a variety of Openings, what do we feel about the slow ones? Slow Openings can be many things – relaxing, frustrating, excruciating, enjoyable, long, time-consuming or just right. We may not know going into a slow Opening what it will be like. Once we find ourselves in one, it’s up to us to find our pace with it, explore its nature and move within it.

No point in trying to rush through a slow Opening. Surrender to it. It has something to teach you that requires slowing down. Someone once said to me that the faster you go physically, the slower you go spiritually and the slower physically, the faster spiritually. There’s merit in focusing as much on “being” as  on “doing”. A slow Opening will get you there – it’s just at tortoise pace rather than that of the hare.

There are downsides to going slow; that’s for sure. We may not be used to the slow pace. A slow Opening may give us too much downtime that we don’t know what to do with. But what is slow? Are we measuring slow against the fast-paced world we live in? We need balance to function well. Slow Openings may give us that balance and open things for us that we never could see going at a rapid pace.

Navigating Slow Openings

Once in a slow Opening, we can adapt and make the most of it. Navigating slow Openings requires its own mindset, to make the most of it. We may not be used to the slower pace. We may encounter discomfort or impatience in a slow Opening. That’s okay. We may find ourselves comparing the Opening to others that we have experienced. That takes us nowhere, as each Opening is unique.

Watch out for resistance to slow Openings. Resistance can sabotage our progress. We must let go of the expectations that our progress must be fast and that slow is unproductive. Resistance holds us back. The resistance may not be about going slow at all, but rather is rooted in deeper feelings that prevent us from going forward. Finding the roots of resistance to a slow Opening lessens its hold on us.

Get in sync with the flow of a slow Opening. Once we have realized we are in a slow Opening, we can reach a healthy place, allowing the Opening to be what it is. Then, we are flowing downstream, rather than swimming upstream. We may even get to like the flow of the Opening. Its pace will open new vistas for us. We may see things that we have missed when we were going at a faster pace.

Acceptance

Once we understand the slow Opening we are in, we can make the most of it. Slow Openings can be wonderful. They revive us, nurture us, help us grow and maximize our experience of all they offer. Give slow Openings a try.

I’m getting used to this slow Opening. It’s like floating down a lazy river. I make progress every day.

photo:   Barbara Anderson, unsplash.com