Took C to the playground the other day. We didn’t take the stroller, so she walked the entire way. Walking with a toddler was initially rather excruciating for my normal pace, which is somewhere between Normal Grown-up and A Tad Hurried. I spent the initial part of the walk in a bit of a rush, for reasons passing understanding. At first I stayed a few steps ahead of her, checking on her over my shoulder every few minutes. Which I quickly realized was very stupid, so I walked the rest of the way beside her.

I was reminded of a local retreat center that offers Slow Walks for Peace. We were on our own Slow Walk for Peace. As erratic as toddlers are reputed to be, she was amazingly consistent. She never sped up or slowed down. The entire walk, exactly the same. Now, she ran all the way home, stopping frequently to investigate something or other. But for the walk over, she gave me the gift of unhurried steadiness.

One day soon she will dart away developmentally, and she will be one who checks me out over her shoulder. But her slow steady steps today beat out an assurance—
We are exactly as we should be, right now.

How much time do I spend accelerating and decelerating? I am careful to drive the speed limit to work. But when I arrive at the church, I hit the desk running. E-mails, phone calls speed past. I am productive and efficient. I careen to a halt for lunch, then I pick up again. At the end of the day I come home; I downshift into Home Gear. After I tuck in C I change immediately into workout clothes, do not pass Go, do not collect $200, and I get on the treadmill.

Am I wearing down my gears? What if I lived the speed limit all day long? What if my life was a Slow Walk for Peace? What if every day was a stroll to the playground at the speed of Toddler?

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, said Emerson. But maybe I need a little more foolishness, not less. It is foolish, is it not, to trust that there is enough time to do what is essential? And it is the little mind of an unhurried toddler which has led me to consider this.