On muggy Missouri summer nights, when it was too hot to be inside, my sisters and I played our favorite game. Kathe may have invented it. As the oldest she liked to organize us. It might have been my idea since I remember being influenced by my Dad's tendency to do things slowly and intentionally. If Kristy made it up there would have been singing involved. Kelli watched from her playpen.
We would hide behind the big rock near the end of driveway and wait for a car to come by, while lightening bugs danced above the field grass and illuminated the dust hanging in the air. To pass the time we told scary stories: An old woman lived alone and found a stranger in her attic... Late one night there was a knock at the door and a man covered with blood...
When we heard the crunch of tires approaching, we crouched behind the rock, grabbed hands...quietly counted...1..2..3..then jumped up and shouted,
"Slow Down and Live!"
Our game ended when an elderly neighbor claimed he nearly had a heart attack and did not want to die in front of the Dannar girls. Our apology to him included a basket of cherry tomatoes from our garden and a promise not to do it again.
That gravel road is now a fast-paced street, with a constant flow of traffic. Car lights and street lights pierce the night sky, making lightening bugs invisible. The open fields were divided, subdivided and parceled into tiny yards. Air-conditioning results in closed windows in cars and houses.
Slow Down and Live resurfaced after forty years when my sister Kathe was diagnosed with terminal cancer. As adults we all returned home frequently to spend time together again. During the year of her illness we reminisced about our rural upbringing and wondered why we felt driven to deliver that message, when our life was so slow-paced and simple.
Life is noisy and fast-paced;often chaotic and too stimulating. A quiet, peaceful spot may not be right outside your door. But, it is out there somewhere, waiting for you to claim it as yours.
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| My daughter, Sara, enjoying a quiet moment |
My current favorite spot to reflect, meditate and drink in nature is a strip of desert near our home in Tucson. I often walk there early in the morning, repeating my mantra....
Slow down and live.
