This morning I was at the grocery store. I had a small cart of items. There was one lane open and I figured I’d go to it. When I turned the corner, I saw a man with a cart full of items. I quickly turned away to head to self checkout.

On the way I paused.

Why was I rushing to check out?

Reflecting back to book I read about slowing down, I realized I had time to stand in line and wait.

So I did.

I stood in line.

My mind took a moment to be present.

Then I was there, watching, listening, and even offered to help the elderly man in front of me pack his bags. He declined saying he needed to pack his own bags so that he knew if he could handle the weight of them when he got home, which makes sense.

I stepped back.

The woman behind me said hello. She started taking with me about the heat and humidity. She was lovely.

Eventually I checked out.

On the ride home I realized that going slow and delaying my checkout, gave me opportunities to be present, and even engage with people I otherwise wouldn’t have.

Yes, sometimes the self-checkout is convenient, but is it always necessary? Are our lives that busy that we don’t have time to wait in line anymore, really? Or is the busyness perceived rushing us through moments that are life giving, like having a conversation with strangers about their age or the weather?

Maybe life isn’t going too fast but we are going too fast through life. I know I can, as my time at the store showed me. If you would like to be more present and experience time tick slower, I invite you to join me to…

pause. breathe. pray.™

May we consider taking the slower path. Maybe that means taking the back road with the views over the highway, making the phone call instead of writing the text, skip the self-checkout and go into the line at the store to check out, etc. May we make choices that help us go slower. And while we slow down, let’s stay unplugged so that we can remain present where we are, with who we are with and have life giving interactions, as I did this morning.

With love and hope,
Shawn

Be still and know that I am God - Psalm 46:10