“Smile, breathe and go slowly.” —Thich Nhat HanhRecently I got a running watch, and have been keeping most of my runs below a certain heart rate, to build up my heart’s aerobic fitness with lots of slow running.
The pace of my runs has been incredibly slow for the past month.
It’s helped me to fall in love with running again.
Music
Often, we listen to music while rushing through our day, such as when we are going somewhere, working, or cleaning. But there’s a sweet pleasure in just sitting around listening to an entire album, the way we used to do, not doing anything but enjoying the music.Work
We often give work a bad name because it can feel burdensome, overwhelming, and exhausting. We have to coerce ourselves to do work. But if we slow down with our tasks, give them some space and allow ourselves to fully immerse ourselves in each activity, it can transform the experience. It can feel spacious and luxurious.Eating
Many of us rush through our meals. We may also scroll on our phones, watch TV or videos, or do work as we eat. It’s hard to enjoy food this way—the food has no flavor if we’re not paying attention. There can be something delicious about slowing down and giving our full attention to our food, even for 5 to 10 minutes. We can savor and find gratitude for the nourishing, beautiful meal before us.Walking
Usually, if we’re walking, we’re in a hurry to get somewhere (at least I am). Or we’re walking for exercise but we have music or a podcast loaded up so we don’t have to pay attention to the walk. But slowing down and just enjoying the journey—even if it’s on the way to get somewhere—can be transformative. Enjoy being outside, enjoy the short journey to go from one place to the next, enjoy the space between things, enjoy moving your body through space.How Slowing Down Helped Me Fall in Love With Running Again
Few things can rob us of the joy an experience offers as effectively as rushing.
I read a bunch of articles (and a book called “80/20 Running”) that inspired me to slow my running pace down to an easy breezy conversational pace. My pace slowed way down, but that allowed me to run for longer (in distance and in time) and not feel very tired or risk injury. I started running almost every day.
These longer, slower runs became a place to reconnect to myself. Sometimes I load up an audiobook or listen to an album. Other times I just enjoy the outdoors going by at a slower pace.
The biggest surprise is how much I started to look forward to my daily runs! Instead of a hard, tiring workout that I would have to “overcome,” my runs became a time of peace and play. Running more slowly comes with its own challenges (I often feel I’m going too slow), but it came with unexpected joys.
The Way of Slowing Down to Fall in Love Again
So how can we apply this principle of slowing down to anything that we’re not excited about anymore?Slowing down starts with simply setting an intention to slow down. I did this with running because I was convinced of its benefits. If you think there’s a beautiful possibility available to you if you slow down with a particular activity, set the intention.
Then find a way to remember. For running, I had the running watch to give me feedback if I was going too fast. For eating, it helps to put technology away and have only the food in front of you. The same goes for reading, writing, or drinking a cup of tea.
Next, find a way to savor the activity. What is there to love about the experience? What joys can you discover, if you keep your mind and heart open? Can you allow yourself to relish in it?
Finally, I love having a sense of anticipation, the sweetness of looking forward to play, joy, pleasure, spaciousness. Always leave the activity with a little longing—don’t exhaust your desire. This way, the next time you are about to do the activity, you’ll feel a lift in your heart.
What would you like to fall in love with again?
