On my recent holiday in Portugal, the owner of the villa where I was staying told me that two of the cities near to our holiday location had joined the Slow Movement.

The Slow Movement is all about asking how to live slowly – or mindfully. The Slow Movement’s web site quotes, amongst many other things, the work of Jon Kabat-Zinn, professor emeritus at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, who ‘has spent much of his professional life bringing the medical world’s attention to the wisdom of the body and the healing that can happen when we get in touch with our senses and our mind.’

Kabat-Zinn writes:

“Mindfulness is a certain way of paying attention that is healing, that is restorative, that is reminding you of who you actually are so that you don’t wind up getting entrained into being a human doing rather than a human being.”

This resonates deeply with me.

Today, how will I be in the midst of all the doing? How are you being you in you life right now, rather than performing you, doing you, doing what is expected or what you think you ought to do right now?

On my other blog about writing for personal development and well being, I have been writing about the poet Nick Laird’s use of the term, the  Slow Language Movement. Please do go and take a look if you are interested in reflecting upon the rushed nature of much of our daily communications and the challenge of how to be in and with this.

Indeed, right now, I am taking a few moments to write this before beginning my work with clients. Life often feels so fast and this quiet time of reflection is crucial to me. I am glad that I can share it with you.