In my last post, I talked about the need to slow down and we began looking at a few ways to not only slow down but reduce stress. Today I want to look at the next two things on our list, that will help us not only slow down but increase joy!
Cook a meal from scratch
Some people love to cook, other people find it a stressful or annoying chore. Whichever you are, if you take a moment and really do this right, I bet you will find that you have learned a lot, not just about cooking but also about yourself. However, there are a few things you must do to ensure that your cooking experience is helpful, not stressful to your everyday life.
First, plan enough time to truly enjoy the experience. It’s not fun to rush and feel like you can’t get it all done on time. If the recipe says it will take 30 minutes to put together and 1 hour to cook, you need to plan more than 1.5 hours to have this meal ready, probably more like 2 or 2.5 hours to make sure you are calm and not feeling rushed.
Next, make sure you have read the recipe and have all of the ingredients and tools necessary to make the said meal! There is nothing like getting halfway through and being frustrated that you can’t find your hand mixer and then remembering that you let your mom/ neighbor/ whoever borrow it and don’t have another. What’s that old saying?… “Failing to plan is planning to fail?” part of planning is preparing by making certain you have everything you need before you begin!
Also, choose a good recipe. It can be new or old but for this exercise, I don’t want you to start with a lot of boxed things. SCRATCH is the keyword. There are times for throwing things together, and there are times for slowing down and appreciating every detail. How can we appreciate the details if someone else has “taken care of all the details” before we even begin? Part of this exercise is an exercise in noticing the small, the unseen, and spending time together. Are you making chicken nuggets and mac and cheese? Bread the nuggets yourself start with flour and egg, cut the chicken breast into pieces, slow down enough to notice what all goes into a meal. (I’m not saying you have to pluck the chicken, feel free to start with those on sale boneless skinless chicken breast.)
Involve the whole family. Yes, it’s nice sometimes to have an afternoon in the kitchen alone, but sometimes you need to build relationships by doing something together. Not in a rush or a hurry not trying to get it all done perfectly, but spending time together creating something beautiful. Maybe you live alone and don’t have anyone to cook for regularly, it’s okay to cook a nice meal for yourself, you are worth taking care of, and treating well, but also don’t be afraid to invite a friend or family member over to do this together!
At the end of the day your goals are simple:
- Notice what goes into a nice meal or dish/desert
- Spend time together creating something you can then share
- Relieve, don’t create stress; slow down and enjoy time together
- Practice being in the here and now, fully present in the moment
Go for a family walk
Maybe you don’t have time to cook a meal, maybe you’re afraid it will end in too many arguments, or maybe (bonus points) you have time or opportunity to do both!
Take a walk as a family. Find 30 minutes and walk around your neighborhood or in the field behind your house. Find a space and walk. Go outside breathe the fresh air. Let the sunshine hot your face and take time to just be together. Talk about your day or what you have planned for tomorrow. Pray for the people in your neighborhood or your family. Be intentional to not rush through this one life you have.
Walking is good for our bodies, it gets us moving in a low-stress way, but it’s also good for our minds. We process and think differently when we are moving. There is something about the forward movement that helps our minds move forward as well.
This is also an exercise for the here and now, as you walk notice the things around you. What type of buildings or houses do you see? What kinds of birds, or flowers are there? What kind of gifts has God given you in this moment? Can you make a list of 50 things that God has given you on your walk?
- Grass
- Shoes
- Socks
- Sidewalk
- Birds
- Purple flowers
- Rocks to kick
- Children laughing
- Neighbors
- Clothes
- A breeze across the face
- Sun shining bright
- Clouds
What’s on your list? Can you make one?
Slowing down takes being intentional wanting it more than you want to rush and get a million things done. Slowing down is a way of life and a choice to say no to the rush and the stress and a choice to say yes to living your one life well. Saying yes to spending time with your family and loved ones. Yes, to being right here right now and enjoying this moment. Loving people right where you are and sacrificing that extra hour of TV time, or scrolling to make more memories than you read about on Facebook.
Choose, choose for yourself today, who will you serve? What will you do? Will you rush through this life with stress and worry or will you slow down, trust God, and live in the moment? Will you see all that He has given you? Or will you worry about will he Keep providing tomorrow?
Join me in learning to trust the one who gives all good gifts!