We live in a beautiful, hectic, dynamic, and never stopping world. A world that for some can eat you alive if you attempt to stop midstream. Imagine you are a rock at the edge of Niagara Falls; you are either strong enough to stand against the flow or you break under the pressure. Maybe your world does not hit like Niagara Falls but instead moves at a slower pace. For me I feel as if my world is always moving at a whirlwind pace, but I love every moment of it and wouldn’t trade it for the peace of a park stream.

Sometimes you have no choice.

This past weekend I was slowed down by some odious sickness. I’ll spare you the length of it all but fever, inability to eat and an overwhelming exhaustion made up this brute. My style is something to note. My outfit consisted of sweatpants and a hoodie. While not a fashion statement in the least, it is what was comfortable. I HATE SLOWING DOWN.

I was cared for by those who love me and they watched as I fought my desires to be doing. I wanted to play piano (see here) but fell victim to trying too much and was left exhausted by the effort. When I did regain some vigor I was able to return to one of my favorite things, food. This ahi tuna salad was one of the first meals back.

Nobody enjoys being sick, but I am terrible at putting the brakes on when my mind wants to run. I am always in search of the next idea, the next post, the next development, the next song, the next creation… the next next. Some of you may resonate with that. If you do I want you to know that it is OK to be a mover.

A cat on my lap and my mind racing I wanted to be doing, but I physically couldn’t. I had to come to accept that state of being, but I did not have to be ok with it.

I found that while I was sick the most frequent comment I received was, “This is your body telling you that you need to give yourself a break.” While biologically this may have some validity, I do not believe it’s a conducive mentality to moving forward. While grounded all I wanted to do was move. I wanted to work on the things that lay ahead of me and the opportunities that required my attention. My body may have wanted to stop, but my mind was still ready to go.

Now I am not saying to ignore the things that are slowing you down and recklessly attack the world with your ambition. Do not try to go snowboarding after blowing out your knee last week. Do not attempt to run a marathon after battling the flu. What I am saying is that it is completely fine to feel the need to be doing.

This drive is what will fuel you to achieve the things that are set out before you. The desires to go after those things are what will put you a step ahead of those who are willing to pull off to the side of the road and wait.

I believe that in the world we live in there are so many times that we do need to slow down and appreciate the moments. To step away from the work and the hum of the world. These moments will be personally enriching but in order to move forward you must first move. Don’t look at the time that you have been slowed down as time wasted, but instead utilize it to build a head of steam and charge forward.