It started a few months ago.
As with most of us, I grew up in a fast paced environment where slowing down, taking a break, and stopping were considered idle, lazy, and unproductive.
Living hours away from my then new workplace, I always found myself breathless and gasping for air when reaching the doors of the childcare center. Upon stepping foot inside, I would then become overwhelmed with the hustle and bustle atmosphere.
Next thing I knew, I crashed. I thought I wouldn’t be able to last in the workplace.
That was until a new Tim Hortons building was built in front of the center. My newfound love for coffee became my inspiration to come in earlier and just spend time doing the things I love- drinking, social media (can’t really lie about this one), and reading. I started coming in 30 minutes to an hour early- 30 minutes to an hour of extra time for myself before starting work.
For other people, this sounds crazy, but this was when I started to appreciate more the act of slowing down, stopping, and/or being idle. I notice more the things around me: the cashiers in the morning that greet me, the construction workers that get the usual double double, the sound of rain hitting the sidewalks, the different fruits and vegetables that are being displayed in a nearby market, etc.
All because I am not in a hurry.
This daily slowing down has influenced the way I teach as whenever I take the children for a walk, I encourage them to tell me to STOP or slow down whenever they see something that is interesting. One thing that I have recently learned is the impact children make when you invite them to attend to your ordinary moment with you. I walked down the same path I usually take in the mornings with the children, and there were countless moments when they told me to STOP and see things from their perspective: the spider web on a lamp post, the stickers on the windows of a market, and how silly people look when drinking coffee (apparently all coffee drinkers at Starbucks wear either a toque, glasses or dark clothes).
I would think that attending to the ordinary requires the act of stopping, slowing down, or being “idle”. It seems so impossible to pay attention to something when we are in such a hurry, yet that is something that we are just so encouraged and wired to doing.