Slow me down, Lord
Photo on Unsplash by Anisa Gauri
Why do we rush? A sense of urgency to fulfill God’s mission, the pace of change in today’s globally connected world, and our own inner compulsions can drive us to hurry. In this blog, some of our 2HC facilitators and spiritual directors encourage us to slow down, to be unhurried – not just now and then but as a way of being in life and mission. They share practices, meaningful quotes, images, and poems. We invite you to read slowly, to pause and savor a word or phrase or image. If you need to reflect more deeply or talk with God about what you are sensing, slow to a complete stop. You can finish reading the blog later.
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from Joel ~ I’d like to share a meaningful quote that arrived as a monthly meditation from the Celtic Daily Prayer by The Northumbria Community. The monthly reflection has always blessed me when it comes up in the month:
"Hurry is an unpleasant thing in itself, but also very unpleasant for whoever is around it. Some people came into my room and rushed in and rushed out and even when they were there, they were not there – they were in the moment ahead or the moment behind. Some people who came in just for a moment were all there, completely in that moment.
Live from day to day, just from day to day. If you do so, you worry less and live more richly. If you let yourself be absorbed completely, if you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments." (1)
from Marian ~ Years ago, I felt a pang of envy toward a coworker who spent his lunch hours capturing breathtaking snapshots of local wildlife. Attempting to emulate him, I invited a friend along, but I found myself rushing through the heat and talking here and there. I returned to the office having seen nothing.
My coworker later offered a gentle correction. He explained that he walks in solitude, moving with intentional slowness and silence to remain observant. This realization shifted my perspective; I began to understand that "unhurrying" is not merely about spotting nature, but about cultivating a stillness that allows me to attend to the movements of my own soul.
As Parker J. Palmer beautifully articulates in A Hidden Wholeness, the soul resembles a "wild animal"—resilient and self-sufficient, yet profoundly shy. If we go "crashing through the woods" demanding its presence, it will remain hidden. It is only when we are willing to sit quietly and wait that we might catch a glimpse of the "precious wildness" we seek. (2)
from Andrew and Dano, a favorite poem by Jim Branch~
slow
the pace of this amazing journey
seems to be lessening as each year goes by
not from need but from desire
desire to see, desire to notice, desire to pay attention
but life continues on
frenetically around
passing by on the right and the left
people on their way to who knows where
zipping here and darting there
rushing to this and racing to that
a frenzy of activity
afraid to miss anything
and yet so much is missed.
the landscape of the journey goes unnoticed
the incredible detail of life is overlooked
invitations to transcendence are passed by
i want to travel at a very slow pace
looking and longing for depth
seeing the intricacies of life
accepting the invitation to sit and watch
yearning for others to join me
yet few seem willing to walk slowly enough to keep up (3)
From Jeff ~ One of the things I have tried recently is when I feel hurry come upon me and the anxiousness that accompanies it, I try to take a pause. In the pause I utilize a breath prayer – taking breaths as a form of prayer. So, for example:
inhale: The Lord is my shepherd
exhale: I have all I need
inhale: Your unfailing love
exhale: is higher than the heavens
inhale: Your faithfulness
exhale: reaches to the clouds.
This "pause" helps me to respond to hurry and the feelings associated with it. In this way I'm not fighting hurry but using it to signal a time to "pause" and breathe a few prayers. Usually this helps me not to fall blindly into hurry.
A few quotes that are very meaningful for me:
"Hurry is a form of violence on the soul." "Love, joy, and peace …. all three are incompatible with hurry." ~ John Mark Comer (4)
"You can play fast, but not in a hurry. As a point guard I can dictate that." ~ Stephen Curry, professional basketball player
"Love has its speed. It is a spiritual speed. It is a different kind of speed from the technological speed to which we are accustomed. It goes on in the depth of our life, whether we notice or not, at three miles an hour. It is the speed we walk and therefore the speed the love of God walks." ~ theologian Kosuke Koyama (5)
From Elaine ~
Image on PhotoLab
from Fran (quoting and responding to author Wilkie Au) ~ “We need, for the sake of our anxious selves, to make the prayer of the late Cardinal Cushing of Boston our own: ‘Slow me down, Lord! Ease the pounding of my heart by the quieting of my mind. Steady my hurried pace with a vision of the eternal reach of time. Give me, amid the confusion of the day, the calmness of the everlasting hills…. Teach me the art of slowing down to look at a flower, to chat with a friend, to pet a dog, to read a few lines from a good book. Remind me each day of the fable of the hare and the tortoise, that I may know that the race is not always to the swift…that there is more to life than increasing its speed…. Slow me down, Lord, and inspire me to send my roots deep into the soil of life’s enduring values that I may grow toward the stars of my greater destiny.’ That I may find you, my God.” (6)
I love these helpful insights:
My racing heart can be eased by the quieting of my mind.
My hurried pace is steadied with a vision of the eternal reach of time.
I can slow down to do simple things like looking at a flower (Jesus suggested as much), talk with and listen well to a friend, or read (slowly) a few lines from a really good book.
There really is more to life than acceleration. There is learning the art of living deep-rooted in what matters and lasts.
For Reflection
What would it sound like to offer your own prayer for God’s slowing influence in your life? That might be worth a prayer or journal post.
Is there one of the summary sentences above that sounds especially timely or helpful?
What if you made a note of it in your smartphone, or put it on a post-it on your bathroom mirror?
Photo by Fran, Mission Trails Regional Park, San Diego
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(1) from The Northumbria Community in Celtic Daily Prayer: Morning, Midday and Evening Prayer and Complines with Meditations for the day and 4 years of Daily Readings from Books 1 and 2. (London: Harper Collins, 2015 edition) p. 18.
(2) In A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life, (Hoboken, New Jersey: Jossey-Bass/John Wiley and Sons, 20th Anniversary Edition, 2024)
(3) In The Blue Book: A Devotional Guide for Every Season of Your Life. (Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016) pp. 290-291.
(4) In The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry: How to stay emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world. (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook, 2019).
(5) In Three Mile an Hour God. (London: SCM Press, 2015 – originally published in 1979).
(6) Wilkie Au in The Enduring Heart: Spirituality for the Long Haul (New York: Paulist Press, 2000) pp. 130-131. (Note: The poem “Slow me Down, Lord” is actually attributed to Wilferd Arlan Peterson. Here is the full poem in a contemporary blog: https://prayersofapilgrim.com/2019/03/20/slow-me-down-lord/)
