If you have a driver’s license you have probably encountered at least a hurry up and wait situation one time! Someone is tailgating you. In frustration they are blowing their horn at you to speed up. Finally, they pass you and are now in front of you but sitting at the same stop light. In such a rush to go nowhere, but in front of you, while they still wait. Rush here! Rush there! Always rushing! We are in a culture where everyone seems to always be rushing to go some place or do something? Is this how life was designed to be?
Finding peace and balance are two things that are spoken of quite frequently. We see books or posts on social media about finding peace or finding balance in this rush, rush world we live in. Impatience is an epidemic. Impatience spreads like a virus, from person to person. There is an old phrase that says, “stop and smell the roses.” We have to slow down a bit. We have to stop and smell the roses, or gardenias, or whatever!
During the pandemic season of isolation, I did a lot of walking through the wooded area of my community. I also did a lot of walking around my community. There were things I discovered that I never knew existed in my own community. Small areas in the woods that were secluded but quaint. A quiet oasis in the midst of a small city. As I walked the local neighborhoods, I found three community book swap stations that I had driven by 100’s of times but never notice! Community gardens that existed down a street I always passed but never stopped or turned down. Discovering all these little gems right in my own backyard! How had I missed all of this? I was in hurry up and wait mode. Something else I discovered during that season was just how stressed and anxious life can be when we don’t slow down and breathe. We are so wound up and we do not realize it because it has become the norm in our lives. It is not until we have the opportunity to slow down do, we realize the beauty of peace.
We all have responsibilities and things that occur in our lives that cause a great deal of stress and anxiety. However, we have to slow down and allow our systems to rest, mind, body, soul, spirit. Yes, it’s called self-care and whether you are male or female, we all need to implement it to some degree.