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Slowing Down

by Jun 19, 2019News

Slowing down

Monday morning. We have 2 tree prunes and 1 tree removal today. I have 4 site visits this afternoon and I’ve just received a call from a children’s nursery in Newcastle: a large branch has snapped off a mature Fraxinus excelsior (Ash) over a glass roof and I’m heading there now to undertake a Safety Inspection and advise on any work if required. 

This is a typical day for me running Newcastle Tree Services. I love this job and I am keenly aware that things can become overwhelming very quickly. 

I start my day with a meditation. This mornings meditation was on Kotsu Kotsu which is the Japanese wording for ‘take things slowly’. 

It is true that I work less these days and at a steady, manageable pace with time to reflect and check in with myself. I started living and working this way 4 years ago and to my astonishment, I actually achieve more and Newcastle Tree Services has become a more profitable business and a joy to work for. 

How on earth can this be the case? 

Moving from task to task at a frantic pace, I made so many more mistakes, worse still, I never learned from these mistakes.

Mistakes are good, IF we learn from them.

My mind could be an often painful place back then. So my ability to adapt to challenges was seriously hindered; creativity was not what it is now, surfacing in intermittent belches like sulphur from a spring. I’d like it to be more like a slow river flow. I’m getting there. It takes work each day. I treat each day as a new day. A break from the last. And I try to keep things in the day. Fretting about the past or the future does not help me. 

If you find yourself moving with an impending urgency to complete task after task attempting to appear nonchalant and inside you’re struggling to live with a sense of peace inside, remember to take time for yourself. We do not have to struggle to find peace. Try a meditation class or pick up your meditation where you left it.

Slow down

Have faith things will get done and all will be well. Relinquish control. All we really have control over is our own thoughts and our consequent actions. Love and look after your mind like you may love your body or your family.

Here are a couple of meditation classes I can personally recommend:

https://newcastlemeditation.com/

https://www.meditation-newcastle.org/events/category/Drop-in+Classes

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