The value of slowing down

We move at a pace that (too) often takes us right past the important things in life...without even realizing that we've missed them.  Technology has become both our access to anytime, anywhere connectivity and our figurative ball and chain.  I'd forgotten how important it is to disconnect with The World and reconnect with my world--the inner sanctum of who I am (or aspire to be) and who matters to me.

For the first time in years, I took a vacation that did not include checking email or staying connected via technology.  My daughter and I spent time enjoying London and one another, taking the time to focus on the things that matter.

One of my favorite photos from our trip is the doorway of the home of the resident physician at the Tower of London.  There are similar photographs available via an internet search, but this one is special because of who took it (my daughter), the conversation we were having when I asked her to take the photograph, and where we went right after the photograph was taken.

The Chapel Royal of St. Peter ad Vincula is located a few steps away from the blue doorway, an ironic juxtaposition of the preservation and destruction of human life.  The quiet moments spent inside the chapel touched me deeply as we listened to a Yeoman Warder who worships each Sunday in the chapel.  To Yeoman Warder Steve, the Chapel is hallowed ground both as a memorial to those who died nearby and as a place of personal worship.  Hallowed ground.  Only by slowing down...