"Slow Down Therapy"

1. Slow down; God is still in heaven. You are not responsible for doing it all yourself right now.

2. Remember a happy, peaceful time in your past. Rest there. Each moment has richness that takes a lifetime to savor.

3. Set your own pace. When someone is pushing you, it's OK to tell them they're pushing.

4. Take nothing for granted: watch water flow, the corn grow, the leaves blow, your neighbor mow.

5. Notice the sun and the moon as they rise and set. They are remarkable for their steady pattern of movement, not their speed.

6. Quit planning how you're going to use what you know, learn, or possess. God's gifts just are; be grateful and their purpose will be clear.

7. When you talk with someone, don't think about what you'll say next. Thoughts will spring up naturally if you let them.

8. Talk and play with children. It will bring out the unhurried little person inside you.

9. Create a place in your home...at your work...in your heart...where you can go for quiet and recollection. You deserve it.

10. Allow yourself time to be lazy and unproductive. Rest isn't a luxury; it's a necessity.

11. Talk slower. Talk less. Don't talk. Communication isn't measured by words.

12. Give yourself permission to be late sometimes. Life is for living, not scheduling.

13. Take time just to think. Action is good and necessary, but it's fruitful only if we muse, ponder, and mull.

14. Make time for play - the things you like to do. Whatever your age, your inner child needs re-creation.

15. Listen to the words you speak, especially in prayer.

16. Learn to stand back and let others take their turn as leaders. There will always be new opportunities for you to step out in front again.

17. Divide big jobs into little jobs. If God took six days to create the universe, can you hope to do any better?

18. Take time to read the Bible and inspiring words. Thoughtful reading is enriching reading.

19. Direct your life with purposeful choices, not with speed and efficiency. The best musician is one who plays with expression and meaning, not the one who finishes first.

20. Take a day off alone; make a retreat. You can learn from monks and hermits without becoming one.

21. Pet a furry friend. You will give and get the gift of now.

22. Work with your hands. It frees the mind.

23. Once in a while, turn down the lights, the volume, the throttle, the invitations. Less really can be more.

24. Let go. Nothing is usually the hardest thing to do - but often it is the best.

25. Take a walk - but don't go anywhere. If you walk just to get somewhere, you sacrifice the walking.

26. Count your friends. If you have one, you are lucky. If you have more, you are blessed. Bless them in return.

27. Count your blessings - one at a time and slowly.