If you live in the west, you may have noticed that our culture tends to be a little manic. The phrase “multi-tasking” simply puts a name to a condition western society has embraced as a virtue rather than something long-lasting and of critical importance.
Society rewards hard work, doesn’t it? While we may get an occasional pat on the back, we need to stop for a moment and consider the deeper impact of “over doing.” We need to look past the incessant message that we need to do more.
Most of us know the truth. There is nothing so important that we need to drive ourselves to our mental and physical limits. The problem is that even though our logical mind sees the truth, we justify our mania through some form of a story. “If we don’t do this, no one will.” “My company will fail if I don’t perform.” Sound familiar?
It seems sometimes, for me anyway, that we can get so busy that we lose touch with our own life, viewing it like a spectator watching someone else’s life. The years roll on and the stress of living piles up like a mountain of sharp rocks. Stress brings on maladies of every kind; anxiety, depression, illness, etc… You get the point.
This is a problem that will not fix itself. We need to take a time out just for ourselves on a regular basis. I can guarantee you that the world will keep turning while you give yourself a reprieve. If it stops while you’re gone, you have bigger concerns anyway.
You, like many, may be going through tough times right now. Events that are out of our control seem to be controlling our lives. We do not know what lies ahead, we can only stay focused in the present moment knowing that others have gone through tough times, emerging still intact in the end.
Soon enough, no matter how hard we push ourselves, no matter how much we fret and worry, we will die. Will we greet the end with a peaceful smile, remembering the moments where everything seemed right or will we be thinking about something we did not get done? Think about that!
6 comments:
I have thought about that... and yes our stories collide in this human life we have wrought after stepping past the childhood of mind.. here we are trying to find the lane that will bring the simple back without to much pain and success in that regard will only come if stop to smell the roses (I know cliche) but we should smell them and not take them with us...Or control their growth...or want them readily at hand... Namaste to you my new friend... Thank you for showing yourself and sharing the light.. suzi
'No man is an island'...John Donne wrote these words, and I've always admired their worth. I find them coming to mind as I read your post. An individual is only a tiny portion of the world. It takes all of mankind to make it whole. You are right...we try to take the weight of the world and place it on our own shoulders. We must learn to work in unity...sharing the burden. Life seems to move so quickly nowadays, thus everyone wants to accomplish everything quickly. At almost sixty years of age, I take great pleasure in slowly admiring the world...no rushing for me!(smile) I really enjoyed reading your work today. I found it interesting and so true...Mattie
Thank you both for your comments. I am a very slow learner when it comes to slowing down. Hopefully, if I write enough about it, I will get the message myself!
slowing down is #27 on my list of things to do for 2009. i better hurry up to get there :)
we can't hear enough of what you're saying there.
i like how you link this frantic "do, do, do" with experiencing life as through a lens.
one of the things i learned in 2008 is that i need to slow down on my blogging-doing; one day i realized that i see my experiences too often as something that can be talked/blogged about later. crazy, huh?
(btw, would love to see one of your articles in my buddhist carnival)
Being the eternal optimist,I begin each day with the thought that if I hurry up and get everything done, I can take time to be peaceful. I can't imagine why it never works!
reminds me of something that a presenter at last week's blogging conference said. one of the biggest problems most entrepreneurs have is that they don't "have" enough time to think/reflect. i put "have" in parentheses because i believe that's time that you need to TAKE, not wait for it to fall in your lap. and i think that relates directly to the obsession with multitasking.
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