Anyone who will step back and take a look at his way of life can find ways to slow down without resorting to tranquilizers. Why shouldn’t the busy mom, between chores, kick off her shoes, lie down on the sofa, and day dream for a few minutes? If her conscience tries to intrude, it should be sent on an errand. When she gets up she’ll find that a lot of energy has flowed back into her.
Pausers are not time-wasters; they are time-users.
To be sure, pausing can be overdone. Lying in bed that extra five minutes is delightful; an extra hour might be not only dull but disastrous. Sooner or later most of us have to get up, go to the office, or get the children off to school, attend to the endless mechanics of living.
But we will do these things better if we have the emotional balance and the controlled energy that comes from deliberate slowing of the pace.
– Arthur Gordon, excerpted from A Touch of Wonder
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