Slow Down, You're Moving Too Fast

In case of emergency

“Slow down, you’re moving too fast” - Simon & Garfunkel 

Slowing down is a great tool. Especially in the situations where you think you need to go fast. I thought I’d share about some areas of life that it can really help to slow down such as emergencies, weight loss, learning a new skill, living the aloha spirit, and when your just not in the zone.

In case of emergency

The waves were rather small today, so I chose to swim and body surf at my local surf break. It looked so peaceful and small, but those of us who are there all the time know that underneath the apparent stillness is a strong current in certain places. Since there are no lifeguards, most of us surfers have taken part in a number of rescues involving people caught in the current. A lot of tourists go to this particular beach.

I saw these two solidly built (hefty) middle aged men swimming and drifting into the current. I was watching because if they weren’t familiar with the break, what would come next is inevitable. 

First, they would realize they are further out than they expected. Then, they would start casually swimming against the current until they realized that they are still going the wrong direction. Then, they need help and worst case they start panicking. 

All of the sudden, I saw one of the guys start to freak out, grabbing onto his friend who was trying to swim. The most dangerous thing to do in a situation like that is to panic, and that is exactly what that one guy was doing. 

I was at a disadvantage since I didn’t have my surf board, which usually I can give someone to grab onto since it floats (rather than grabbing onto me and possibly drowning both).

So what did I do?

Slow myself down.

Breathe. 

Look around. 

Evaluate.

I saw a couple locals I knew, one paddling out on a long board, the another on his short board. They would pass by the guys who were in trouble shortly. 

So, after assessing the situation, I swam to them to be of assistance. The long boarder got there as I did, and gave his board to the guy freaking out, pushing him into some white water to get him closer to shore. I told the calmer of the two guys where to swim in order to get out of the current and safely get to shore. 

Then the guy who was panicking on the longboard brilliantly decided to get off the board. He was still holding onto the board, which was now flipped over with the fin up. I swam over and got him back on the board and pushed him on a little wave to get him to the sand bar. 

Everyone made it safely in.

This was par for the course, and nothing particularly unusual. But I wanted to share it here to discuss a few things when you are dealing with hectic or stressful situations in your life. They don’t have to be life or death, just anything that is stressful or hectic.

The first thing to do when things get chaotic in your life is to slow down. This is really important. If the situation gets stressful enough, your adrenaline will kick in and you will naturally actually do everything faster even if you are consciously slowing yourself down.

The easiest way to slow down is to consciously take a breath. If you think of it, ask for the Light.

This first example shows how slowing yourself down can help in emergency situations, but there are a lot of situations where slowing down proves to be very helpful. 

Learning a new skill

There was a period of time a number of years ago when I was doing firearms training, participating in shooting courses and the like. I know, I’ll probably get letters because this subject tends to trigger people (pun intended).