The White Rabbit & The Window
Dawn at my landing window, Saturday 8th August 2026
On Slowing Down, Changing Pace & Noticing What was Always There.
Ouch – I woke up last Sunday with a sharp pain in my nagging hip, telling me I’d definitely slept in a position it was not happy about. Still, I got up, moved around and met one of my besties for a nurturing walk in the woods. By the time I’d got home, it was difficult to weight bear.
Hip bursitis, said the doctor, it might take up to two weeks to get back to normal. Suddenly I was forced to walk slowly, having to allow more time for everything. I’m relieved to say that I am walking again now, and I’ll never take that privilege for granted. But it got me thinking more about how I had literally been forced to slow down.
Why was I still walking at a million miles per hour anyway? Particularly whilst at work, or when grocery shopping, I would still move as if I were late for a very important date (as I hear the White Rabbit sing whilst checking his watch, in Disney’s animation of Alice in Wonderland!).
If not consciously choosing to slow down, to notice nature, painting to remember, or observing something new, apparently my default speed, is still ‘go go go’.
Reflecting on this week, when I got back to moving again, although slower than before, the same amount of work still got completed (although hoovering took a back seat this week – any excuse!). The groceries still made their way to the fridge. The food still got prepared and eaten. The days still came and went.
It made me think about the story of the Tortoise and the Hare. The Hare isn’t particularly ignorant, nor is the tortoise particularly wise. In fact, there is a place for both slow and steady and speedy in life at different times. Life can sometimes encourage us to be more Hare (or more White Rabbit!). Then sometimes, life can give us no choice but to become the tortoise. Not lazy, not better, but different. When you do slow down, the world changes.
My slower days and earlier nights this week, made way for an even earlier morning. When I woke up yesterday on a Saturday morning at exactly, 4:44am, I thought, typical – a morning when I could lay in, I’m now awake. Surrendering to not being able to fall back to sleep, I got up. I’m so glad I did. I was met with the most beautiful sunrise streaming in through the landing window. Had I not had a slower week and an earlier start, I would have missed this very moment.
Saturday happened to be the 8th of August and everywhere I’ve looked this week, I’ve seen talk of the Lion’s Gate. A time associated with courage, intention and new beginnings.
For me, the synchronicity of waking up on the 8th of the 8th at 4:44am, was worth noticing.
This week literally forced me to slow down, which happened to open up a new window in time. A new day beginning, one that I might have otherwise missed the dawn of.
It’s the same window I pass every morning, but this week, it was a new speed in which to admire the view.
If you looked through the same window at a different speed, what might you see?
Until next Sunday…
🌿 May you find inspiration in nature this week.
Tracey Anne x
