“There’s an old Italian proverb: Qui va piano, va sano, va lentano. That means: ‘The person who goes quietly, goes with health and goes far.’ Hurrying up and using a lot of shortcuts doesn’t get us very far.” – Mr. Rogers
And so this is why I do my work in the way that I do.
I want to work quietly from my little space in the larger world to help the people who come my way to live happier, healthier lives.
In order to be present with others and to think deeply and have the awareness of what matters, I go at a slower pace with enough quiet time to connect to that deeper place from which best of me arrises. Then I am able to hold a space for others to sit quietly with their own feelings and connect to that deeper part of themselves to find healing and peace.
This is what matters to me.
Personally, living this way also helps me enjoy my life and relationships. And it helps me be comfortable even when the world is so full of discomfort.
I often encounter, as I expect you do, new and exiting opportunities for growth that promise to increase success. It’s easy to feel as if you should do them all, or that you’ll be left behind if you are not present in every form of media or taking every workshop.
Sure we all benefit from growth and learning, but sometimes I think leaping from one opportunity to the next is not deeply effective. Having several things going at once, or in rapid succession doesn’t leave much time for development of information into thorough understanding or skill.
So I try to build in room for depth – time to think and weigh choices and understand concepts; time to feel; and time to creatively meander so ideas come from the center of who I am.
I plan a certain number of workshops per year, keep a set schedule at the office, and offer as much community building service as I can while honoring the time for quiet, creativity and reflection.
I think success comes from who we are much more than what we do.
