the slow down

If you follow me on the socials - if you don’t please say hi on the insta @helloellengreer or on my favourite pinterest - you might have seen that I have had a melanoma removed from my leg and with that came an unexpected (and unprecedented for me and my family) enforced two weeks of sitting.

I have read, I have planned and I have had the joy of editing both photos and words that I haven’t either had the energy to do or the deadline to do. You know, when it’s for you, your work, your brand and there is no deadline and it is not necessarily procrastination central, but that I’ll do that later mentality and the simple list To Do list turns into the One Thing List (this is my version of a LIST that are things that are so so simple and so so easy and it would literally take you one minute to do, but you just can’t be f’ed).

The art of slowing down is a precious skill that I am trying to learn. It’s an intentional act, a reclaiming of time and a reconnection with who I was before the ‘time’ constraints/management/needs of children take its place. I am constantly distracted by getting all the shit done that needs to get done so the next day can roll through at ease or to get myself into bed for that precious time between 8pm and midnight (this is my deepest sleep; anything after 12pm or a consecutive 2 hours sleep, I am a first responding weapon, patting, rocking, soothing machine, light footed and stealth in the early morning hours) before another human needs something from me (this is really not a whinge but an acknowledgement of the consumption of headspace and mental load that comes with children, businesses, partners, life).

I am consciously, acutely aware of time as our first born limbers in his 16th year. Of not ‘rushing’ to get the SHIT done so I can be. I am learning that the mundane, monotony and that time particularly between 5pm and bed time are the moments that I need stop and be. Not just for me, but for them. To look at them in the eyes, to listen to their words and to be; some days I am better at this than others.

So, if you ever find yourself with two weeks to just sit, or even two minutes - I highly recommend the following…

Of Gold + Dust by Samantha Wills

I am also genuinely waiting for the arrival of SW’s new course; she is the ultimate in honest reflection, in leading with heart, in aligning what is the right thing for yourself; her writing, her tone and her conversations are to me, a somewhat North Star in the saturation of what ‘branding’ today means.

The Truth About Her by Jacqueline Maley

I escaped, I absolutely did. I find it so hard most days to read and to escape into a book like I used to. But this captivated me to the point where I wanted to not read/look away for a few parts, knowing that I would have liked Suzy to make certain choices; the story of Jan and her truth to be told, what an uncertain surprise this character was.

Elle x

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