What's the Rush?

Hurry up, we need to get there. Let's move or we will be late. Come on people get out of my way! What is the rush? Why are we all in such a hurry these days. Everyone is so focused on getting somewhere as fast as they can. Why?

This seems to be a common thing to all of us. We are all trying to get somewhere or something as fast as we can. Drive home from work fast. Make dinner fast and eat it fast. Get to the store or the laundromat or to that dance recital as fast as we can. But what is the hurry? Why is it so important to move as fast as possible?

I think this is causing us to miss much of our life. Whether you believe we only have one life to live or many, you should enjoy your life. Not rush through it as fast as you can. A normal day for many people is wake up, run around getting dressed and rushing out the door for work. Then you drive as quickly as possible to clock in. You hurry to your desk and spend the day processing as many tasks as you can. Out the door and rushing home. Get home and hurry to get dinner and eat. Then quick, get the chores done, feed the pets, get the kids homework done, and hurry them to bed. Then off to bed yourself, just to wake and repeat the next day.

Why? You spent the whole day thinking about what you had to do next, and hurrying through what you are doing. What is the point to that? You never took a minute to think, or to really see what was around you. Coming home after work, you had no time to properly greet your family, you were too busy hurrying on to the next chore or task.

You missed the whole day. Sure, you got stuff done. But you still missed everything. That sleepy smile on your daughter's face as she woke up and saw you? You didn't see it, you were hurrying her to get up and get dressed for school. The quiet thank you from a co-worker you helped at work? You may have said you're welcome to them as you rushed away. But you missed seeing the gratitude in their eyes, or even really realizing that they were thanking you. You just tossed off the appropriate response as you hurried off.

The stunning sunset, all full of reds and pinks and oranges on your way home? You never noticed, you were trying to hurry home, muttering at the slow drivers around you. The happiness and pride your spouse had as they told you of something they accomplished at work? You didn't hear them, you were trying to hurry up and get dinner done. The sudden comprehension as your child solved a tough problem on their math homework? You weren't there, you were telling them to hurry up, it is almost bedtime, and they still had to take a bath.

Little things like this happen to us every day. So many events of joy and sadness, accomplishments and failures, surprises and disappointments. These happen all around us. But even though we are present, we aren't really there. We are hurrying and rushing to the next thing to do.

So we miss our whole life. We lose every day. You can never get those things back once they pass. So why are we hurrying through it all? Are we afraid we will miss the next thing? If you think about it, you are missing the current things by trying so hard not to miss the next thing. At the end of the day, we have missed it all.

Slow down a bit, look around you. See what is happening now, at this moment. Enjoy things as they happen. Focus on what you are doing now, not what you are going to do next. Stop missing your life and start living it. So much is there to see, feel, do, and experience.

This moment, each moment, in your life has value. Each day, each event is not worth missing out on. Live your life, don't rush through it so fast that all you have is a blur of missed emotions or events.