Slow Up

When recently prompted with a question of ways that spas are helping people slow down in their busy lives, Glen Ivy Hot Springs Spa Founder John C. Gray gave the following response:

"I'm a naturally enthusiastic guy, and I can't tell you how many times over the years family, friends, business colleagues, and even strangers have suggested I slow down. I always resisted the idea, and some time ago I finally got that it wasn't about the 'slow' part of the suggestion. It was about the 'down.'

As a kid growing up in suburban New York we boys loved riding our bikes on a narrow asphalt path in a strip of trees we called 'the woods' parallel to Wantagh Parkway. We’d pedal as fast as our ten-year-old legs could go, and I was pretty fast. Whenever I was way out ahead, Doug or George or Dick would yell, 'Hey! Slow up!'

Slow up. Now there’s a message I don’t resist. There’s no down about it! Slow up and let things you rushed by catch up with you. Slow up and feel the breeze in your face. Slow up and see the path ahead as something welcoming, inviting, and not as a race to win. Who wants down when you can be up?

Our long-established vision statement at Glen Ivy Hot Springs is “elevating life experience.” I believe there’s a natural buoyancy in people, and whenever we stop holding on to what’s holding us down, up we go! And slow up. It’s the best way to go."

I really enjoyed hearing John narrate these words to me, especially as I continue to learn and put into practice the principles of spa as a lifestyle - making time for myself, enjoying the company of friends and family, and doing things that are good and good for me.

I hope these words spoke to you too and, hey, slow up.