ONE STEP AT A TIME

In the waiting, you might begin to feel that the slowness is causing restlessness. You might find yourself worrying that something is wrong or that you are doing something wrong because you're not moving at the pace you desire. You may begin to doubt the direction you've taken in life, and wonder if you've made the right choices. I cannot tell you what would have happened differently had you made different choices, but I can tell you that perhaps, even here, you are free to look for invitations into slowness. You are free to say these kinds of things to yourself:

"I'm going to spend a few weeks thinking about this."

"I'm going to take some time away from that until next year."

"I'm not sure how I feel about this yet...I'm going to give it some time."

"Let's try this, and if it works, great! And if it doesn't, we will try something else."

For all of the challenges that come with slower seasons of life, perhaps, we can look for the lessons slowness can teach us. For all of the waiting and learning to sit with unanswered questions, we can practice making room for slowness…to live one step at a time, taking mindful, careful steps.

The difference between taking mindful steps and overthinking your steps is that mindful steps are taken with purpose and direction, while overthinking often leads to anxiousness and confusion.

Of course, slowness is not always easy, and there are many good reasons why you may want the waiting to hurry right along. At the same time, I hope you can find comfort in how you are learning your way through the slowness of it all. I hope you can trust that it matters to learn to travel through this landscape called life, focusing on one step at a time.  I hope you can have a sense of accomplishment and gratitude as you practice navigating through this season with mindful, careful steps.

Word of the Day: Navigate (v) "to successfully find a way from one place to another" (Cambridge)
Affirmation: "I am navigating through the unknowns within my life one day at a time."
Journal: Navigate through your day by writing down what you feel, what's on your mind, and what you hope to accomplish today (bullet points and incomplete sentences are okay).

More in this week's series called "Breathe Deep Here In The Waiting", only with a subscription in the Storyteller App.

Sincerely,
Morgan Harper Nichols
@thestorytellerco
@morganharpernichols