I woke up this morning to the sound of super strong winds whirling at my windows. Then I checked the weather app and saw it was 23 degrees. All I want to do on days like this is stay in bed. All day. “But I have so much stuff to do!” rings that voice in my head. Adding to the to-do-list vibe is the energy of where I live (NYC—duh, the city that never sleeps!) where everyone is in a mad dash to catch the subway, cross the street, or grab something to eat. Then add that it’s the holiday season, and it’s NYC on steroids.
So, as I sank farther under the covers this morning, I started to think about sloths. (That’s how my mind works. I actually found a birthday card that I sent to my brother last month that said, “Sometimes I think about how great you are. Then I think about penguins.” That’s me in a nutshell.) I thought about how sloths are so freaking cute, always look like they’re smiling, and never ever have the need to rush or run around.
Still in bed, I started reading about sloths on my phone. I found out that they move so slowly that sometimes algae grow on them. Turns out that's a great thing because it camouflages them in the trees and hides them from predators. Hmm, so moving slowly is a beneficial thing. Like, life-saving even.
Often when I do animal communication readings, the animal comes through with a message for his human to “slow down, take a breath, meditate.” You never see your cat/dog/horse/goldfish stressing out to get one more thing accomplished even though they are tired and need to go to sleep. But I do that all the time. There’s so much wisdom in slowing down, though, and our animals know it. Taking time out for yourself on a regular basis—even for just a few minutes—to quiet your mind and be present helps you to feel more balanced, which in turn reduces stress, which is good for the mind and the body. Life-saving, in my opinion.
For some people, even the word “meditation” is stress inducing. So I say all you need to do is sit and breathe. Deep, slow belly breaths. Think of it as a gift to yourself during the holidays…and then keep the gift going after the holidays. Or if that’s even daunting to you, just sit and watch a sloth video. And try to see if you can feel why they’re always smiling.
It’s all about the magic. 🙌