How to Find a Sustainable Pace of Life

“Sabbath rest is not slamming on the brakes until you screech to a stop for a single day of pause before revving up again but to set your tempo of being to the lapping of the waves upon the patient shore so the rhythm of nature matches the rhythm of your life remembering that you are nature as well.” David Gate

Three years ago, a friend gave me a card with this quote from a poem by David Gate. They knew I aspired, and perhaps deeply desired, to live from a steadier, more grounded centre.

At the time, I was in a season of transition. An opportunity had opened up for me to choose a different way of living, one with a slower pace and more space. I imagined that would be easy. It wasn’t.

I’ve discovered that my tempo of being can be set by so many things, both external and internal. There are the obvious pressures: family needs, work commitments and the never-ending laundry list of life. Then there are the less visible forces: my own drive to achieve, to be productive, to do things well. And, if I’m honest, the occasional appearance of good old FOMO. I find myself saying yes when I should say no.

Over the years, I have returned to these lines time and again. I think I’ve now accepted that setting and resetting my tempo to the rhythm of nature is an ongoing, perhaps lifelong, practice.

Being naturally task-driven, I have to be intentional about stepping back from the hurly-burly of daily life. If I don’t create space for solitude, stillness and silence, it rarely happens by accident.

The honest truth is that I slow my tempo down best by getting out and running on the trails. It’s an interesting paradox. What looks like activity from the outside actually creates stillness within. Running in nature slows my head down, reconnects me with my body and soul, and often becomes a form of prayer.

My soul seems to move much more slowly than either my mind or my body. I don’t know if that’s theologically correct, but it’s certainly what it feels like. My thoughts can race ahead and my diary can fill up quickly, yet something deeper within me needs time to catch up.

Finding a Sustainable Pace of Life

Perhaps that is why the pace I can sustain has to take my inner life seriously, not just the demands of my diary. When my tempo is determined solely by the outer world, I eventually become depleted. When I pay attention to what is happening within me as well, I find a steadier rhythm emerging.

I still have a lot of steadying to do. Yet this practice has helped me set my metronome at a slower pace. Life is becoming less boom-and-bust, less all-or-nothing. Rest is no longer simply a recovery strategy to stave off burnout or illness. Instead, it is becoming part of everyday life.

For me, that looks like regular contemplative prayer, reflective running in nature, and seasonal times of retreat or pilgrimage. None of these are dramatic. They are ways of returning to the rhythm I want to live by.

Five Practices for a Sustainable Pace of Life

If, like me, you find yourself longing for a steadier pace, here are a few simple practices that may help.

1. Notice What Sets Your Tempo

Take a few moments at the end of the day to ask:

• What shaped my pace today?

• What made me feel hurried?

• What helped me feel grounded?

Awareness is often the first step towards change.

2. Schedule Small Pauses

Rather than waiting for a day off or a holiday, experiment with brief moments of rest throughout the day.

• Five minutes of silence before opening your laptop.

• A slow cup of tea without your phone.

• Sitting outside and simply noticing the weather.

Small pauses can interrupt the rush and help you notice the pace you are actually living at.

3. Move at the Pace of Your Soul

Find an activity that helps your mind settle and your inner life become more visible.

For some, it may be running, for others, it might be walking, writing, gardening, swimming, sketching or simply sitting beneath a tree.

The point is not to get anything done, it is to create enough space to notice yourself and what is happening.

4. Develop a Weekly Sabbath Rhythm

Rather than seeing Sabbath as an emergency brake at the end of a frantic week, consider it part of an ongoing rhythm of rest.

Ask yourself:

• What restores me?

• What reconnects me with God, myself and others?

• What activities feel life-giving rather than life-draining?

5. Create Seasonal Space

Our capacity, attention and energy change over time. If possible, build in occasional opportunities for retreat, pilgrimage or an extended day of reflection. These longer pauses can help you notice where your life has drifted out of rhythm and what might need adjusting.

A Continual Returning

I’m increasingly convinced that rest is about learning a different way of being.

Like the waves upon the shore, the invitation is not to come to a dramatic halt and then surge forward again. It is to discover a sustainable rhythm that can carry us through different seasons of life.

I haven’t mastered that rhythm. In many ways, I’m still a beginner. I suspect this is something I will keep relearning: noticing when I’ve sped up again, and returning to a tempo that allows my soul to keep pace.

And maybe, as David Gate suggests, part of that is remembering that we are nature as well.

Spiritual direction can be a useful place to explore what drives your pace, what gives you life, and which rhythms and practices help you stay connected with the deeper movements of your soul.