Is it just me, or do most people seem to be in a hurry these day? Rushing to get up in the morning? Rushing to get to work? Rushing to get things done? Rushing to get home? Rush, rush, rush!
I guess I’ve long been aware of it, but I really noticed it the other evening on the way to a meeting. I like to walk or take public transport where I can, so the trip was around 20 minutes on the metro and another 30 minutes walk along a couple of busy city streets.
Destinations and journeys
I always aim to be on time (not that I succeed!) but this day I was a few minutes behind schedule and noticed this impulse to hurry. For a moment my step quickened and with it my heart beat and stress level as I concentrated on checking the time and calculating how late I would be (about 5 minutes!!!).
The cars were all frantically trying to get places fast. Driving too fast and close together, cutting each other up, changing lane to get a slight advantage and generally acting as though each one had more right to the road than anyone else. Watching this, I wondered what that was all about.
Why put so much energy and tension into getting some place a few minutes faster?
The irony of this question, of course, was that I was doing exactly the same thing.
I was so focused on getting where I wanted to be, I completely forgot to enjoy the walk. Realising this, I slowed down and while there weren’t any roses to smell, I did start to look for the beauty around me.
On a busy street in the middle of the city, you have to search a little to find beauty. Once I’d stopped worrying, it didn’t take much effort to appreciate the smell of cooking from an Italian restaurant. To hear the birds by the roadside. To see the expressions on the faces of those I passed. Even to marvel at the human ingenuity that created this city – the buildings, the streets, the lights and even the cars.
At one point I passed a construction site. Growing just inside the fence, next to the building materials was a small clump of poppies. I find something magical about these flowers and they always bring a smile to my face. There’s something about their delicacy and fragility combined with their strength and adaptability. They always seem to grow where nothing else wants to.
I would surely have missed them on any other day.
It’s all in the mind
Interestingly I didn’t have to slow my pace much to notice the sights on this short trip. All I had to do was slow my thinking, look around and NOTICE.
Rushing is in the mind, not in how fast we do things.
The lyrics of Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘The 59th Bridge Street Song‘ sum up what I wanted to say:
Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy.Hello lamppost,
What cha knowing?
I’ve come to watch your flowers growing.
Ain’t cha got no rhymes for me?
Doot-in’ doo-doo,
Feelin’ groovy.Got no deeds to do,
No promises to keep.
I’m dappled and drowsy and ready to sleep.
Let the morning time drop all its petals on me.
Life, i love you,
All is groovy.
And I got to my meeting a very relaxed 5 minutes late.
I was the first one to arrive.
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Not only do folks seem to be in a hurry, but folks seem to compete to see who hurries the most. Hurrying for the sake of hurrying is not a game I want to play. But taking time to smell the poppies? I can always make time for the good stuff.
Thanks for the thoughtful reminder.
Do poppies really have a smell? Man, I’ve gotta get out more!
I love the ending, Ian: “And I got to my meeting a very relaxed 5 minutes late. I was the first one to arrive.”
You’re beginning to sound like a Costa Rican!
Hi Ian-
This is moving. I was one of those people moving to fast and getting caught up in work mainly.
You are so right, people have to slow down. enjoy your surroundings. It makes for a less stressful life.
I recently read “stress is an ignorant state” and that has stuck with me.
Thanks
Have you noticed that anxiety and worry from hurrying doesn’t actually help you get to your destination any faster? Well, especially in traffic. I suppose if you’re on foot, you could run. But anyways, I always try to remind myself that I’m just making myself miserable by worrying about being late and that there’s no benefit in doing so.
I’m the QUEEN of being in a hurry. I’m always in a rush, no matter what I’m doing. The other day I read a passage in a book about someone who was always in a hurry but didn’t necessary have anywhere to go. The book mentioned something along the lines of the fact that this woman wasn’t trying to get SOMEWHERE but was actually trying to get AWAY from herself. When I thought about it this way, I realized that rushing and running when there’s no reason to be in a hurry is a serious problem and something I really need to work on. Your post reaffirms that and I thank you for writing it!
I love me some Simon and Garfunkle! Excellent choice of song, my friend!
When I lived in Chicago, I used to take an extra-long lunch break. I’d take my sandwich and sit on a little wall that is next to the park..along Michigan Avenue where lots of banker/stock-broker types worked. I always thought they looked so silly…walking in such a hurry, talking on their cell phones, rushing to get nowhere fast. I remember thinking that if *that* was what “successful” looked like, then I didn’t want any part of it!
I’m really looking forward to moving to a beach community soon, because I’m a firm believer in the island lifestyle. relaxed, laid-back, enjoy life and take it easy. Sounds like heaven to me!
Ian, have you heard of the social experiment where Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world, played one of the most intricate pieces of music ever written on a violin worth 3.5 million, while posing as a busker in a metro stations….. And almost nobody stopped to listen to him.
I find it absolutely astounding how people seem to have lost the ability to appreciate things. Are we really that short on time?? Or have we just stopped caring??
On a slightly sidewards note – One of the lessons I am still learning as a parent, it to run on children’s time, as apposed to adult’s time. I find children are incredibly good at being in the moment and fully appreciating what ever that might be.
(Maybe that’s why we’re almost always late!)
BUSTED. I am often running late (my own dang fault) and I am often stressing myself out on the road. And suddenly everyone is in MY WAY. It’s like the one area of my life where I constantly, mindfully practice active compassion because frankly that’s when I am most likely to wish bad things on unwitting people.
Looking back at my propensity for rushing through life, details are blurred. I discovered that the only way to create meaningful, satisfying memories was to slow down.
Ian,
I feel that I’m the only person I know who’s not in a hurry, and this is the result of a conscious choice years ago to slow down. I love sitting with a coffee these days and watching the rest of the world rush by, and being grateful that I don’t do that myself much anymore. Sometimes I even feel so lazy…
Oh, and excuse me, I have to hurry off to do some more non-hurrying now
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You’re so right – we get stressed and then we create a false sense of urgency that drives us, so that we don’t think clearly because we’re so busy rushing. It’s SO important to be able to pull yourself out of this stress and fear and false urgency so you can focus on what’s really important to you, and think clearly about how to express, manage or live what’s most important to you.
Cath
I also think the false sense of urgency obscures from us those moments of genuine urgency. A bit like the boy who cried wolf!
[...] to think clearly, relax and enjoy getting things done. Ian Peatey wrote a great post called Everyone’s in a hurry posted at Quantum Learning, where he shares his thoughts on the importance of being able to calm [...]