day 1418: Learnings From The Camino (Final part): Slowing Down

“Be still, and know that I am God!"

This is my last post on my learning from the Camino.  There are so many more that I could write, but we will let those show up when they are supposed to do so.  This final learning was the best of all for me. I needed it, so maybe that is why it was there to be found.

Something good happens when we slow down.  We see things we haven't seen before, hear things that we normally wouldn't and consider thoughts that are longer and more complex.  When we rush by life and all that is around us we not only miss important things, we also fail to connect with what is most important, and those are the people around us.  On the Camino de Santiago it is impossible to not find time of stillness, quiet and contemplation. Even on the days when the finish starts to look better than the journey, there is an ability to observe and converse in a way that we don't in our everyday lives.  I talked. I watched. I listened.  I smelled.  I stopped.  If we slow down, just a bit, we will find that there is way more going on around us than we realize.  A pause or just a decrease of pace, for just a while, can open up new opportunities that are all around us but not obvious.  Slow it down for a bit and watch what happens.  The Camino teaches how good it can be.

"Be still and know that I am God" or  "Hey you, slow down and try a new way". We can't speed up God so why don't we slow to His speed and see what it is like there?  We don't because we either don't trust or we don't believe.  Today, we are going to be challenged in our work to speed up and solve problems and create ideas and plans. But, we also have some of those in front of us that we know we aren't up to and don't have the foggiest of ideas on how we will not only solve, but even survive.  This is God's territory and time that we slow ourselves down to follow Him!  The way forward is always there, it is what we need to experience and know before we go that God has in His hands!

Reference:  Psalm 46:10 (New Living Translation)

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day 519: Slower Can Be Faster

It was Napoleon who was quoted as saying, "Dress me slow for I must ride fast today". Today we have shortened it to, "Slower is Faster". That's not always true but there is some sense in the saying. If we are not prepared, or if we don't think about what we are going to have to do when we get to where we are going, then when we get there, we won't be ready. On the job it is always hurry up and today its about immediacy. We want our information now without hesitation. We want our messages to be pushed to us continuously regardless of where we are and what we are doing. We want to know that those we work with are in constant communication and always on and ready to reply. So, when someone comes along and asks us to sit down, plan, write it out, rehearse, discuss, think or to go slower, we rebel or at the least we don't want to get out of our pattern or lose our momentum. But, sometimes we do need to go slower to be faster. But, it's really hard to do this in today's world. Just to provide some context, this is really not that new. In the Psalms, David wrote about saying to God; "In the day when I call answer me speedily”. He also prayed; “I am in trouble: hear me speedily”. David was not willing to go slow with God, but instead was just like the rest of us and wanted, in this case, his answers, now. But that is not how God works. He works on us slowly so that one day we can go fast with confidence. Think today about what areas in your life are you asking God to hurry up and work at your speed versus His. Also, take a look around your office and see if there some areas where you could benefit from slowing down to see where slower could be faster for you and those around you.

Reference: Psalm 102:2, 69:17 (New Living Testament)