You
Move Too Fast
“Half
an hour’s meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a
full hour is needed.”
St.
Francis de Sales
What
happens when you get into a big hurry? A couple of weeks ago, I was trying to
get home. I’d been gone for several hours and felt pressure within and without.
I stopped at an intersection, looked both ways, and was about to turn left, when
a truck pulled up on my right and blocked my view of the road. So I stepped on
it, thinking I could pull into the center lane if need be. Of course, a car had
materialized, and that car held police officers, who stopped me for not
yielding right of way. I didn’t get a ticket because I was contrite and
apologetic. I knew I’d blown it and didn’t argue with the officer. It reminded
me of when I went tearing out of the babysitter’s driveway backward because I
was late for an appointment. The front tire of my car ended up in a ditch. That
made me a whole lot later.
When we
think we don’t have time, when we think we are just too busy, that is exactly
when we need to stop and take some breaths and have a moment of prayer or
meditation. The more we rush, the more likely we are to screw up, forget
things, make mistakes, trip, and fall. Because when we’re in a rush, we are in
our heads and not in our bodies. We are thinking about the next thing we need
to do instead of what we are doing right now. It’s a recipe for accidents.
Since
the traffic incident with the policeman, I’ve begun to ask myself what is so
important that five more minutes with make or break it? Seriously? In the big
scheme of things, how important is it for you (me) to be there right on the dot
for an appointment. Don’t we usually sit and wait for who knows how long?
Rushing around is both anxiety driven, and anxiety producing, and that’s not
good for much of anything.
I was
once married to a man who refused to drive faster than 55 miles per hour. It made
me crazy. He actually did the algebra—calculated the distance related to the
speed and informed me that if I drove at 65 mph, and he drove at 55 mph, he
would arrive only five minutes after me. How important was that five minutes? You
can see why that marriage didn’t last, can’t you! I hate to admit it, but he
was right.
Traffic today is a whole
other ball of wax—people drive as though the devil himself is after them. A lot
of us think that means we need to speed up to match the breakneck pace of the
traffic, but that is wrongheaded. Get in your lane, breathe deep and slow, and
stay alert. This is one day of your precious life. You don’t know whether you’ll
have another one. Slow down, take it in, say a prayer of gratitude. Take time
to enjoy this day.
In the Spirit,
Jane
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