Slow Down
I think a lot about what it means to slow down. After my recent vacations, I understand a little better but I still find myself preoccupied with all the things I would like to do. I still feel that I don't have enough time to do everything, to complete all my projects, to see my friends, to participate in the lives of others. I still want to use my time better, to get more done. So I still notice myself rushing through the days and weeks, adding stress to my life by setting targets I never quite reach. I would feel better, or at least calmer, if I could slow down.
A recent e-mail from a friend brought an interesting perspective on the issue. In part, she said "When you worry and hurry through your day, It is like an unopened gift....Thrown away." It means that rushing causes you to waste the time you put in because you make yourself unappreciative: If you don't enjoy what you're doing, enjoy your day, enjoy life, you can't appreciate the good things that inevitably come your way. In fact, the pleasures of life pass you by as you rush to keep up.
At about the same time, I noticed a Dilbert cartoon where the conclusion was "Reading goes quickly when you don't slow down to comprehend." The cartoon gives us the same message in a more humorous vein. Everything goes quickly if you rush but what's the point, what have we gained when we move through life hurriedly, without pausing to enjoy it?
It's sad that so many lessons in life come so late because the time to slow down, to enjoy, to stop rushing through life is when we're young. But it's never too late to change, we never stop learning, and every day is another opportunity to do better. Even if nobody else listens to this advice, I will and I intend to follow it. I'm already slowing down and enjoying things more and there's probably room for an even slower pace.
6-9-03
Home Page 2003 Archives 2002 Archives 2001 Archives 2000 Archives 1999 Archives