Slow Down- Find Your Quiet World

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Today is one of the days when I need to remind myself- “To get more done, slow down.” I work on Saturdays and plan ambitiously for this day thinking that given the fewer number of people at work, it will be possible to do more. So I actually started looking for what is it that helps people do more. I came across Peter Bregman’s series on “How We Work” and his article on “To get more done, slow down.”

While I was doing that I came across this wonderful poem which I share below. I thank my colleague Santhosh for letting his series- Pocket Full of Poesy brighten my day. He always manages to find the most beautiful poems to share. Sometimes he sends two- one for each pocket!

Do you remember what were the first one hundred and sixty seven words your spoke today?

Yes, I mean it- Slow down. Find your quiet world.

The Quiet World – Jeffrey McDaniel

In an effort to get people to look

into each other’s eyes more,

and also to appease the mutes,

the government has decided

to allot each person exactly one hundred

and sixty-seven words, per day.

When the phone rings, I put it to my ear

without saying hello. In the restaurant

I point at chicken noodle soup.

I am adjusting well to the new way.

Late at night, I call my long distance lover,

proudly say I only used fifty-nine today.

I saved the rest for you.

When she doesn’t respond,

I know she’s used up all her words,

so I slowly whisper I love you

thirty-two and a third times.

After that, we just sit on the line

and listen to each other breathe.

[Image- From Jess Koehn's shop at Etsy ]

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Filed under mantra

Tags: communication, Peter Bregman, poem, words, work