Slowing Down, So That I Can Fully Embrace Myself

When I play my bodhran ( traditional Irish drum), I tend to make beats that are quite fast. Sometimes I start off slow, but it's not long until I have increased the tempo. It's just how I used to play. I love a good build up.

I think I was just too impatient with myself, worried that if I didn't deliver my beat fast enough, that perhaps people would just get bored or I'd have missed my chance to join in. You know, to just quickly get it over and done with. Which makes no sense, cos I do enjoy playing. But then again, what in life does make sense? Especially when it comes to understanding ourselves.

But there is so much to be said, for taking a breath and slowing down. Giving myself time to really ground and connect with my creative fire. Because you know what, I'm worth it.

I don't need to speed things up, be it my music or my singing. Slowing down allows me to open up more and in doing so, I connect more with my own rhythm and my voice.

Otherwise, I will always remain in the shallows.

So I hit my drum more slowly now, a rhythm closer to my heartbeat. I have nothing to prove anymore. I just take a breath and trust in whatever comes forth.

The same goes when I am singing. I have learned to slow right down, so that I can connect on a more deeper level with my voice. So I feel it rising up from within me and its not just a sound that comes out of my throat. Allowing me to really connect with the words, to feel them.

The Art of creative Expression is so important. Finding ways in which you can really open up and allow that force within, to transform you, to guide you.
Our power, lies in our ability to create.

For we are creators first and foremost.

Over these last few days, as I continue to experience lower back pain, I have began singing everyday. Old Irish songs, that take me back to my roots. Songs that speak of life and death, of suffering.

Containing words that hold a lot of emotional baggage, baggage that needs to be off loaded. Reminding me, that when I heal, I am also helping to heal the whole.

As I sing, I set those words free and in doing so, I also free myself.

Dancing is the same. I slow down and become more conscious of each movement.
Feeling my arm push through the air, feeling the weight of each finger as I curl them round, as my hand turns. Breathing deep, as I take each step more Consciously.

Feeling the full weight of my being move.

This morning, I awoke to the sound of rain, falling on the roof of my home. Tat, tat as each drop fell on the roof. My windows were open and the truck was full of the scent of wet earth. It was glorious. When I stepped outside, the clouds were low in the sky with the mountains covered in Mist. I felt like I was back in Ireland.

So very fitting, for the songs I have been singing, songs connecting me with my ancestors.

The latest prompt from the Minimalist Community reads as follows .....

How do you eliminate stress and maintain balance in your life?
Are there any changes you need to make in your life?

We are always going to experience stress in our lives. Life is meant to be challenging. It is during those times, that the most growth happens. We can't avoid them and we really shouldn't try to. We just have to look at, how we react to those situations.

As I get older, I realise how important it is to slow down. But not perhaps, in the way you might first think. I need to slow down, so that I can fully embrace my creative self. I will remain as active as ever, it's just now I give myself the space and time I need, to be me. To tap into my creative power, so that I can fully express myself, not caring about whether I am being judged or not.

To really understand what it means to be free. Bringing me all the balance that I need.