addicted to hurry

way back in my first post, i described the meaning of "in the fast lane going slow" and my attempt at being intentional about slowing life down.

it seems i'm not the only one that struggles with this fast-paced life. i recently picked up a book on my bookshelf called Addicted to Hurry: Spiritual Strategies for Slowing Down. the book actually belongs to a friend of mine and has been sitting there unread for years. but the time has finally come for me to read it!

i've just gotten through the introduction and a few pages of the first chapter and i am fired up!!! it will be a challenge in and of itself not to rush through the reading of this book.

here are a few amazing tidbits from just the little bit i've read so far.

"hurry is not just a part of life, hurry is life. when hurry becomes a chronic condition, when we run even when there is no reason to, when we rush while performing the most mundane tasks, it may be said that we have become addicted to hurry."

"chronic hurry is a serious malady of mind, heart and soul, putting at risk relationship with God, each other and ourselves."

"beating hurry addiction is more than a matter of merely slowing down. a viable alternative to hurry must yield joys and fulfillments that rival those of hurry."

"envision an achievable alternative to hurry: cultivating your own sacred, savoring pace...savoring pace is about taking the time to notice more. while we cannot notice everything, believing that everything is worth noticing can dynamically enrich life."

can i get an amen here?

the book also gives a brief list of some of the more common phrases in our language that have to do with hurry. they are:

i am going as fast as i can
speedy recovery
hurry up
mad dash
get a move on
ASAP
the sooner, the better
step on it
shake a leg
get cracking
i've got to run
i don't have much time
wait a minute
just a second
right away
how soon can i expect it?
running late
running scared
run down
running out of time
grab a bite
on the run
it'll only take a minute

...and i'm sure you can think of even more.

i'm not saying (and neither is the book) that speed isn't necessary and doesn't have it's place. but where it's not required, i can work on slowing down.

i'm going to investigate my hurriedness. would you like to embark on an experiment with me? for one day, let's see how many times we verbalize our hurriedness and/or become impatient in different situations.

the results could be shocking.

in the fast lane going slow

That's what I am.  And as far back as I can remember, that's what I've always been.  Growing up, I was granted the nickname "Pokey" by my step-dad. My husband even has a name for my lolly-gagging. He calls it "bardering" (a funny morphed version of my maiden name :-) 

God just didn't give me the gift of speed.  So here I am:  in the fast lane going slow.

I used to say, "when life slows down, then I'll..."  And then one day I finally realized that life isn't going to slow down on its own.  We have too many devices that are constantly speeding it up. Microwaves. The Internet. Cell phones. Email. Text messaging. PDAs. Society is getting spoiled...don't you just hate it when you have to wait?  At a stoplight...in line at the grocery store...when you can't get ahold of someone...for someone to return your email...for a file to download...for a prayer to be answered.  Whatever it is we want, we want it now.  Life seems to be one big hurry.

So, I decided that if I wanted life to slow down, then I was going to have to make it slow down. I've had to cut back on some commitments to make time for the things that are most important to me.  And mostly, that boils down to people.  People are most important to me.  I don't want to come to the end of my life and wish I would have done things differently, like spending more time with family and friends.  I mean, don't get me wrong.  I know I'll have regrets when I get there...I already have tons. 

The good news is, I still have plenty of time to invest in relationships, Lord willing of course. And one of the reasons this investment is so important to me is because that's what Jesus did. He spent his entire life investing in people...not only addressing their needs in this life, but with real focus on their eternal life.  What a perfect example, literally.

So, I guess I'll go forth in the fast lane we call life with intentional efforts of trying to slow it down so that the really important things in my life aren't actually things, but people.

I hope you feel invested in and have the time to find several lives to invest in yourself.  I bet the people you invest in will tell you it's worth it.