10 Ways to Unhurry

“Be.”  My One Word for this year.

Honestly, how can so much be packed into one little, itty-bitty word?

A Few Thoughts on “My ONE WORD”

This word, BE,  has truly taken me all over the place so far this year.  In fact, it might require another year. (And I wondered if this were a good, solid word!)

There no way I can adequately share the depth and breadth of what I have learned and continue to learn about this word:  stillness, quiet, waiting, walking, presence….

          And HURRY!

Yes, my time with this power-packed word even brought me face-to-face with my hurriedness.

Scratching the Surface of What God Has Taught Me

• It’s okay to be busy. Busyness is a by-product of life.

• It is NOT okay to be hurried. Hurriedness is the migration of busyness into the soul where it squeezes out God.

• “All the running offers is breathless anxiety.” Leeana Tankersley, Breathing Room

• HURRY = MPH resulting in an anxious, driven, frenzy of life.

• The hurried lifestyle is UNSUSTAINABLE.

• “Hurry is the great enemy of spiritual life in our day. You must ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life.”  Dallas Willard.

• My soul craves rest (unhurry).

• Doing nothing does wonders for the soul!

• Jesus knew the power of a rested soul.

• God is NEVER in a HURRY!

• God wants to keep me company. I need to allow Him the space.

As I wrestled with these thoughts and others, I realized that I have lived most of my adult life in “emergency mode” driven by an internal impulse to get to some obscure NEXT THING – damaging the health of my soul.

Echoing the opening words from Alan Fadling’s An Unhurried Life, “I am now a recovering speed addict” (my inner pace of life, that is, not the drug).  Jesus, my unhurried Savior, invites me to walk with Him, to keep Him company.

So I ask.  I ask Him to teach me to move at the pace of grace.  I ask Him to help me learn to BE.

Learning to Walk at the Pace of Grace and to Be Still

It’s not easy for a recovering speed addict to take her foot off of the accelerator.  Sometimes it’s difficult to even know what that looks like let alone do it.

Here are a few ways I am moving from hurried to unhurried, from anxious frenzy to BEING.

1. Setting a timer and sitting in silence with God – five minutes, seven, ten. No talking.  Just listening.

2. Taking a walk around the neighborhood or a nearby park. No phone, no ipod, no earbuds.  Quietly listening to the world around me.

3. Praying in Color. Sitting with God as I wordlessly offer my loved ones and their care to Him.

4. Meditating on Scripture.

5. Journaling for my soul which invites me to be still and focuses my attention.

6. Napping.

7. Enjoying time with friends over coffee or lunch.

8. Putting down the phone and engaging in face-to-face conversation. Being fully present with those I am with.

9. Not rushing through a book, piece of music, time with God or with others so that I can get to that NEXT THING.

10. Taking a deep breath and letting go.

I am finding that the “BE” life is one of peace and contentment and health for my soul.  It is precious time with the Creator and Sustainer of the universe who wants to be with me.  It is essential.

In the busyness of life and the hurriedness of soul, we have lost something.  Something important and necessary to the very health of our soul  —  time with God.   Our soul aches as it cries out for time with Him, but in the noise it is not heard.  Journaling for the Soul is an easy-to-navigate, “doable” resource for the busy and the hurried of soul.  Packed with journaling methods of both the traditional and nontraditional variety and each one connected to one of the major spiritual disciplines, this handbook is a tool for anyone looking for help in eliminating the hurry, bringing quiet for hearing, and creating much needed space for meeting with God.

Journaling for the Soul: Slow Down, Replenish, Exhale [A Handbook of Methods]

 Available NOW at Amazon.com.