" Rushing ... "

“ ... And the weeks and the months go rushing by

This year we have learned how to live

How to forget, and how to forgive without fear, ohh ooh

... This year I pray for you, uh

And I thank God for you

Just wanna be with you

This year that's all I wanna do

Day by day, I'm gonna get my way

This year I pray for you

Seasons turn, I've got a lot to learn ...

This year we have learned how to live ... “

~ Moby ~ Rushing ~

***

Ralph Emerson said “we are always getting ready to live but never living”.  It seems that most people are busy, short of time and rushing through life ... but what if you just be in the moment?  Not practical you might think because you have so much to do, so much to say.  Fair enough ... but have you ever tried slowing down and taking a backseat to enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer?

When we rush through life, we forget to life in the NOW.   

When you rush through life, you miss out on the journey.  You miss out on living in the present and you miss out on those precious moments of life.  All because you are busy trying to next step, get to the next place.  

So, I call bullshit ... because when you are busy in your life with lots to be done each day, you are simply making an excuse to deal with yourself.  What are you avoiding, what don’t you want to deal with ... what IS the rush?

To be busy has become a way of life.  It signifies importance for some and for others, a perception of how responsible one is.  Yet more of us are clocking longer hours and we seem to even pack our free time with extra activities.  Plus, we do it to ourselves ... the addiction to the adrenaline rush of doing too much and at the last minute ... maybe to seek appreciation ... maybe to increase our value ... maybe if we do more, get better, go faster ... it just becomes a habit.

Thankfully, we can rebel against a hectic lifestyle and slow down to enjoy life.  A slow paced life means you make time to enjoy your morning, instead of rushing off to work.  A slow paced life means you enjoy your conversation rather than being distracted by your phone.  Personally, slowing down is a conscious choice I make ... and not always an easy one.  Yet I have a greater appreciation for life and the happiness available to me at any given moment.  I just need to be here, now, because I am constantly reminded, there is no other place to be.

Prioritize and begin by doing less.  Focus on what is really important, what really needs to be done and let go of the rest.  Become mindful of whatever you are doing in the moment.  Be fully available for others and listen because we think we listen, but we are really thinking about ourselves and what we want to say.  Make a point to do one task at a time.  And always go back to your breathe.  If you find yourself speeding up and stressing out ... pause and take a breathe, by focusing on each breath will bring you back to the present moment and slow yourself down.  

Most people treat the present moment as if it were an obstacle 

that they need to overcome ... since the present moment is life itself, 

it is an insane way to live ~ Eckhart Tolle