Slow Down ~ by Author Marj Ivancic

Slow down.
Pay attention.

I can’t tell you how many times I heard those two phrases in my life. They were usually preceded by some knuckleheaded move on my part. You know the kind. Moving too fast, brain elsewhere. Adding bleach to the dark laundry; scuffing the wall paint with the chair leg; knocking a glass from the counter.

But this month, I had cause to think upon those words more deeply as I wrote my father’s eulogy.

My dad was a man of thought before action, which meant he wasn’t one to suffer mistakes gladly. Yet, what I think he was really saying when he levied those parental admonishments was, “have care” or “proceed with care.”

What is it to care for something or someone?

To protect. To take responsibility for. To look after.

Weighty stuff, eh? So, why apply it to “things” like possessions?

For my dad, it wasn’t about materialism. In his mind, to care for

something required having appreciation for it. And if you appreciate something, then gratitude surely follows. And a life of gratitude is a content one.

Slow down.

Pay attention.

If you learn to be grateful for the small things, like possessions, just imagine how grateful you will be for the really important stuff—your body, your mind, your loved ones, this planet, your fellow man.

Slow down.

Pay attention.

Be in the moment. They pass too quickly, these precious moments of our lives, big and small. Appreciate those breaths, those chances we are given which show themselves in the minutes and hours of time spent with our loved ones.

Slow down.

Pay attention.

What a wonderful life philosophy. What a wonderful lesson. What a wonderful man. I am forever indebted.