Let a little pig remind you of the power of the pause

Stop! Just stop.

Take a few seconds. One, two, three, four. Take a breath. Breathe in. Breathe out. OK, now you can go again.

Do you feel a little calmer?

It's the power of the pause – that momentary stall when you just stop. We don't do it often enough. Yet, popular wisdom tells us to all the time: "Stop and smell the roses." "Take the time to enjoy it." "Relax." "Take it easy." The messages are out there, but we ignore them. So let's keep it simple: Stop! Just stop.

Our problem is that we forget. So here is a novel solution: The garden statue. Huh? What?

Yes, the garden statue. It's always there – standing, waiting patiently, quiet. Put one in your yard, somewhere you will see it as you are rushing out, or rushing home. Let it be your reminder to "stop." Have some fun with it. For instance, put a cute little sleeping piglet in the flowerbed right by your driveway. As you going flying by to your next thing you are running late for, let it remind you to slow down. After all, who wants to wake a sleeping little pig?

Are you smiling yet? See it's working already.

Try it. It will add a little something-something to your garden this season.

Drop by the West Island Nursery to check out all the novel characters that can stand vigil in your garden this summer and remind you to feel the power of the pause.

West Island Nursery is on St. Charles Blvd. just south of Pierrefonds Blvd. in Pierrefonds-Roxboro.