Chasing Slow
Hello, friends. I hardly know where to begin in describing the book Chasing Slow so lets go back to the beginning. I ordered this book from the library a few weeks ago after seeing all of the beautiful pics on Instagram taken by women with early editions of the book. So, I had ordered Chasing Slow from my library and went along with life. Then, I found myself in a situation that seems to happen all too often….I order 5-10 books months in advance, and at different times…and then they all become available for me to pick up at the same time. Ahhhhh….This certainly qualifies as one of the best & worst situations….I know, I know #firstworldproblems, right?
Anyways, there I was with a 5 book pile to take home with me and of course, since they are all new releases they are not renewable. So, I get home and instead of feeling excited to start reading and grateful that I have access to so many great books, I instead felt stressed by the entire situation. I should also mention that I lead the PowerSheets book club online and am part of a local book club in my city so in short, I found myself with a lot of reading to do.
As I sat in my room with too many books and not enough time I decided to return a few without reading them…and Chasing Slow was one of those books. However, instead of taking it back to the library I found myself picking it up on a Saturday morning and reading the first 150 pages. Rather than the other 10 books that I had waiting for me this was the one that I needed. And with a title like Chasing Slow that should have been a clear indicator, Amen?
What I found inside Chasing Slow were words, examples, and ideas that so deeply resonated with me. I think that it’s so easy for many of us to see the success of someone like Erin and to idolize her situation and life. Instead the honesty that I instead found was so refreshing.
Here are a few of my biggest takeaways. These are the messages that made me pause, think, re-read, and then take copious notes, and then pause again to let it soak in….
10 Favorite Quotes & Takeaways from Chasing Slow:
“Peace is a lofty word with spiritual implications. It can mean a great many things, but sometimes peace simply means that when the barista at Noahs Bagels gives you the wrong cookie- and you don’t notice until you’re back on the freeway, you eat it and smile and go on with your day.”
[bctt tweet=”“I wonder how many of us are trading in our peace, our passions, our plies in search of something more. How many of us are fighting for the American dream, running the rat race, praying to scale Maslow’s self-actualization pyramid, when really we just want to dance?” -Erin Loechner” username=”@betsyjaime”]
“I later learned that thinking about living is not the same as living”
“Do you know what happens when we victimize ourselves? When we hand over our power to circumstances? We lose everything that matters. We lose the freedom to change, the grace to rise above, the strength to get up off the couch.”
“I think that what you’ll discover more and more as you get older is that most people aren’t thinking about you at all” – Haven Kimmel
“I was part of that strange race of people aptly described as spending their lives doing things they detest, to make money they don’t want, to buy things they don’t need, to impress people they don’t like.” -Emile Gauvreau
“The answer to a happy marriage is the same as the answer to a happy life. It is simple, and it is not at all simple: Give freely. “
[bctt tweet=”“Do you want to know the best way to accept your flaws? It is to practice accepting someone else’s.” -Erin Loechner in Chasing Slow” username=”@betsyjaime”]
“You get to decide,” she says. “It’s a choice. You get to decide to place your worth somewhere else. In something else. In something beyond circumstances” In something beyond yourself. -Erin’s friend Mara
“For just one second, look at your life and see how perfect it is. Stop looking for the next secret door that is going to lead you to your real life. Stop waiting. This is it: there’s nothing else. It’s here, and you’d better decide to enjoy it or you’re going to be miserable wherever you go. For the rest of your life, forever.” -Lev Grossman, The Magician
