What if, instead of a long list of resolutions, you had just one word to anchor your year?
At the beginning of each new year, I don’t set resolutions, but I do choose a word for the year – a word to anchor me and guide my actions. (In 2020, that word was ‘Grounded’ – sorry, world!) For 2022, I have chosen the word ‘Slow’ to consciously counteract what one teacher of mine called ‘the hyper-speed of capitalism’. We are so busy speed-walking through life that we barely take notice of our surroundings. Yet, when I slow down, new possibilities emerge – a different approach to a challenge I’m facing, a newfound appreciation for someone in my life, the ability to find humour in a stressful situation.
There are many ways to cultivate ‘slowness’ – meditation, mindful walking, reading poetry. But one of my favourite new ways to cultivate this quality is much simpler and more accessible – a daily “Two Not Touch” puzzle, which I started doing with my dad over the holidays. These puzzles are impossible to speed through (he might say otherwise!). They force me to slow down, breathe, and contemplate my options. I often reach a point where I think the puzzle is just unsolvable, and yet, if I give it time, an answer always emerges.
Today’s poem, by David Whyte, expresses why I believe it’s so important to cultivate this quality of slowness. By moving more slowly, we can re-build the connections between us that are fraying. We can notice our family, colleagues, and community in new ways, and feed their souls. Slowness is the first step in healing the divisions we’re facing in the world.
