What’s The Rush?

“Stop the glorification of busy.”

Honestly, I can’t count the number of times someone has made a remark about how slow I walk, and for North American society, I can’t exactly say I’m surprised. But in some respects, I do get slightly annoyed. At times I sit and think about how quickly people are passing by, and my urge to mention that their fast pace is mildly unnecessary seems far too confrontational. Anyways, who am I to say how fast they walk?

I just can’t help but wonder how much of our lives are spent not enjoying life simply because we are always in a hurry. Whether it’s rushing off to work, late for an appointment or simply a necessity to get as much done in one day as we can, I think we all need to take a moment to slow down. For most of us, it’s been ingrained in our minds that there exists a necessity to keep busy, to “do something” regardless of whether or not there is time. Yet as we are “making a living”, we keep forgetting to pause and just appreciate the life around us.

I find that my slow walking – whether it’s to a local café, strolling through the park on my way home from school or just out for a meander – is my time to appreciate life. It is during these walks that I find mental clarity from work, and I am able to be receptive towards my surroundings. It is during these walks where I feel my willingness to scan what’s happening around me allows for a different kind of happiness, where I feel like I am in fact living my life. It’s peaceful.

Many will argue that just because they walk fast doesn’t mean they can’t have this same sense of clarity in their minds. I guess that’s not really what I am drawing attention to. The point I am trying to get across is that in the moments we spend rushing through something, we aren’t getting the same level of appreciation.

So, the next time you are going out to do your “running around”, before you grab the keys to the car, stop yourself.  Go back and take an extra sip of coffee, pet your dog and maybe even offer to take someone with you for the ride. These little moments are the ones that will make you a life, that will let you breathe in this world that is fascinated with being busy. It’s okay to be a couple minutes late, after all; the time you were taking away from something else, you were putting into something that you must have placed importance on – that’s okay!

If anything, I hope this post encourages you to take one minute of your day to spend the time as you choose… slowly!

You can read more from Samantha Dickson on her blog.

Feature image via.