I'm not going to go into great detail on this here because I need to sleep soon. But I'm going to get it off my chest before laying down for the night. Maybe I'm the only one ...
Perhaps I see it more easily because I have a child. Or perhaps I’ve just noticed it a little too much watching my own and others’ behavior. It seems to me like there is less and less ability on the part of modern man to wait.
Some of it may be a natural outgrowth of how instantaneous our world society has become. An event happens on the other side of the globe and we hear about it within minutes, not the days or weeks or months it once took to spread word of a newsworthy event. Electronic communication means our thoughts and needs and concerns are conveyed instantly.
The average speed of our cars on the highway is 10-20 times faster than people once traveled by horse-and-carriage. Even our ability to apply for and attain funding for our purchases is lightning quick, as credit card companies boast 30-second approval for credit lines and stores offer financing in-house while you pick out that new HDTV.
This mercurial pattern spills over into all areas of our lives and, it seems, when we have to wait for anything for very long, we become extremely irate. This lack of patience can be seen in how many people cannot save for what they want but instead put their purchases on credit cards. I see it in how people freak out if someone doesn’t pick up their cell phone or answer an email fast enough. I watch people speeding down the roads, so intent on reaching where they’re going that they miss so much on the way there.
If there is one thing I am grateful for about my path, it’s the reminder that — regardless of how bad you want it to do so — the grain ain’t gonna ripen any faster, so you might as well enjoy watching the wind ripple through the green fields. Time is not your enemy, nor is it your friend. It is an illusion. The only moment you have is this one, and the faster you move, the more of it you miss.
Slow down. Slow down. Please, slow down.
. I just interpret all this race to swiftness as the world finally catching up with me! Seriously, this is excellent advice & there is much beauty & spiritual renewal in watching a stream flow by, feeling the wind blow gently & observing the seasonal changes in the world. Nature & the Goddess aren’t speeding up, there’s a lesson in that for us.
Millie Fee (keyokwee.wordpress.com) |
Monday, 11th January 2010 at 6:35 PM