Inhale. Exhale. Our bodies naturally perform it, yet most of us forget to do it.
From dawn to dusk our schedules are filled, as the “busy bees” and “eager beavers” receive endless admiration and recognition. The more you accomplish, the more you are worth and the busy people are the ones accomplishing the most.
Busyness has become a badge of honor, an honor that comes with a cost.
As we conduct ourselves like fast-paced machines that are striving for efficiency and productivity, wanting things instantaneously, we forget about the little things. The beautiful, forgotten, little things.
The beauty of slowing down and simplicity.
When did we forget that the small things were once very big things for us?
The CDC says that a child should be able to walk unassisted at 18 months. The time it takes for a child to reach this developmental milestone is longer than a year, and it is celebrated greatly by all who witness it.
Now, it would be snail-paced progress if it took us 18 months to accomplish one thing.
We want to accomplish the most in the shortest amount of time. The thought of slowing down or pausing, even just for a moment, is frowned upon and hinders our progress.
We fashion our schedules in a similar manner to the Grinch, to ensure that we can accomplish the most.
Of course, our schedules include greetings, meetings and breathing, instead of “4:00, wallow in self-pity; 4:30, stare into the abyss; 5:00, jazzercize; 6:30, dinner with me – I can’t cancel that again; 7:00, wrestle with my self-loathing…,” but the idea is the same.
Every minute is planned out. Our schedules focus on the big things, leaving no time to recognize the little things.
For more than a decade, cheerleading was the center of my life. I recently realized that I overlooked the biggest lesson cheerleading taught me. It was such a little thing at the time, and even now is still a little thing, but that lesson is how I, years later, interpret the words of the first cheer I ever learned:
“Stop, look and listen. The best is here…”
“Stop” what you are doing. Press the pause button on life for a minute. The busyness will soon return.
“Look” at the world around you, the world you often rush through and disregard.
“And listen” to aspects you push aside. Listen to the chirping of the birds outside your window, the faint laughter of the children playing next door, the forsaken dreams you had for yourself and the remaining faint desire to live them.
“The best is here.” The here and now, the present. Learning to live in the present moment and being present in it. Acknowledge that the best time to change something in life that no longer serves you is now. The best is here, embrace it.
When we recognize and appreciate the little things, being a “busy bee” or “eager beaver” becomes less important than it once was.
Allow yourself to turn off the fast-paced machine occasionally so that you can appreciate the beautiful, forgotten, little things.
Lauren Madden is a 22-year-old mass communication senior from Mandeville.