Stillness isn’t the absence of movement. It’s a focus on the present.

Here’s a question for you. Pretend I asked you this question a year ago:

If the majority of the world slowed down because of one unifying singular crisis event… would THAT be enough for you to give yourself a break? 

1. ADMIT TO YOUR LONGING TO SLOW DOWN. If you can’t fess up to it, just take my word for it, you probably need to slow down. Take Mother Earth’s word for it, she is telling us to slowww the f*ck down.

2. BREATHE. For those of us with the privilege to slow down… What do you not need to have, and not need to do? I just asked the lovely people in my Heart Centered Membership that question in our Zoom call. In about three minutes, these responses came in:

I don’t need… to commute three hours to work, $14 cocktails, to go to the spa so much, to go to family gatherings, to try to fill my schedule because I’m afraid of being lonely, to get my nails done, to drive every day, to shop every day, to see people every day.

And we probably don’t need as much take out food, as many pairs of new shoes, or clothes, or bags of stuff and more stuff. We also don’t need to answer all of our emails, or respond to all of our texts, or jet set.

3. TAKE YOUR JOY. On many days your joy will be an act of defiance. Do it. The darkness feeds on fear, doubt, and lack-thinking. Joy dispels that darkness. It strengthens our collective immune system.

4. MAKE PERSONAL PAIN TRANSPERSONAL. Feel your pain fully, with compassion. You let it soften you, and then… you look up to ask, Who else is experiencing this pain, or worse? Is there a way I can help comfort them or alleviate their pain? This is not to invalidate your own suffering. It’s to validate someone else’s. This is an act of inclusiveness.

I have so much more to say on the matter. Episode 2 of Grace for Impact is out. Just in time.

With Love,

Danielle

Danielle LaPorte is an invited member of Oprah’s SuperSoul 100, a group who, in Oprah Winfrey’s words, “is uniquely connecting the world together with a spiritual energy that matters.” She is author of White Hot Truth: Clarity for keeping it real on your spiritual path—from one seeker to another. The Fire Starter Sessions, and The Desire Map: A Guide To Creating Goals With Soul—the book that has been translated into 8 languages, evolved into a yearly day planner system, a top 10 iTunes app, and an international workshop program with licensed facilitators in 15 countries. Named one of the “Top 100 Websites for Women” by Forbes, millions of visitors go to DanielleLaPorte.com every month for her daily #Truthbombs and what’s been called “the best place online for kickass spirituality.” A speaker, a poet, a painter, and a former business strategist and Washington-DC think tank exec, Entrepreneur Magazine calls Danielle, “equal parts poet and entrepreneurial badass…edgy, contrarian…loving and inspired.” Her charities of choice are Eve Ensler’s VDay: a global movement to end violence against women and girls, and charity: water, setting out to bring safe drinking water to everyone in the world. She lives in Vancouver, BC with her favourite philosopher, her son. You can find her @daniellelaporte and just about everywhere on social media.