A Snail’s Pace

I hope 2023 has started well for you! For me, it’s been an insightful lesson in what it means, really, to slow down.

I tested positive for Covid right after the New Year. And while I knew, with both Mars and Mercury being retrograde, that I was being guided to take January slow - I didn’t fully realize what my Guides meant by “slow” until I literally couldn’t get out of bed for several days. My normal response of powering through illness, it seemed, would not serve me with Covid. Luckily, my symptoms were kept to only extreme fatigue, dizziness and brain fog. However, they were still annoying enough that “slow” was the only speed I could muster for about 10 days. During that time, I realized that by doing one to two small tasks a day while focusing on my wellness, created a sense of “complete” at the end of each day. And I started to understand that following what my body needed and what I wanted to do that day, even if it was just straightening the bed, taking a shower, or making an easy, nutritious meal, was enough. And in that enough-ness, there was joy. Joy in listening, joy in accomplishing anything and joy in simply feeling better. Doing things at a snail’s pace, a 180-degree difference for me, gave me space to focus on me. Which is also a delightful new experience, as I’m not use to putting myself first.

Lukas, my trusted canine partner, never left my side - even though I was afraid I would infect him too. There was no persuading him to stay away from me. He simply asked to care for me in his way. This included taking me for small 10-minute pilgrimages to our favorite tree, Elder, to get some fresh air, move our bodies and heal with nature. He, too, slowed his pace to allow us both to play with a new rhythm. He is, next month, turning 7 and “slow” will be a developing new speed for him as well in the coming years.

Now that Covid is lifting for me, I’ve gained a new understanding of what my Guides were trying to tell me - what the speed of SLOW actually means. And it is inspiring me on how I want to move forward in the coming weeks - particularly with the new Moon this Saturday - in better balancing my work and downtime.

What did these two retrogrades and the start of the New Year show you about what you want for yourself in 2023? Let me know! I’d love to hear from you and your animals. I have a feeling it’s going to be (another) interesting year indeed of finding the speed that suits us best.

Take care of yourself, thanks for being here - Julie.

Learning what “slow” really means.

Photo: Photo by Carrie Borden on Unsplash