Enjoy the life while there is still time. Tomorrow may not arrive!
But first, we have to understand what we mean by slowing down. It is not becoming lazy, sleeping for 12 hours a day, not being on time at your office or not completing the work allotted to you. It means cutting down on needless activity, saving on time wasted by excessive hurry, improving on the quality of one’s work, and enjoying the work instead of considering it a drudgery. It is not being burnt out at an early age.
The question we have constantly to ask ourselves is ‘Why am I in a hurry! Is it a matter of life and death?’
I am reminded of a story of an American and a Chinese travelling in a car. The American guy is at the wheel. He manages to cross a unmanned railway crossing. An express train missed hitting them by a few seconds. On crossing, the American says to his Chinese friend, “Great, we have saved two minutes!” The Chinese, with all his eastern wisdom, asks, “My friend now tell me what we shall do with these two minutes?”
Most of us are no different from the American, risking our lives, speeding recklessly just to save two minutes, which we do not know what to do with. This is how we waste our lives, ruining our health and peace of mind rushing through life at break neck speed to make more money, get more fame, which in the end mean nothing. Whether you amass a million or 10 million, when you go, you leave behind everything. Perhaps leaving behind 10 million would be more painful! Let us remember that even Emperor Alexander left the world empty-handed.
I will ask a question. You need an operation. You are recommended two surgeons: one who is fast and performs the surgery in a short time but his success rate is not good, and another who is slow but his success rate is better. The question is what does one want from a surgeon: speed or safety? The choice is obvious and clear – safety over speed. If this be so, then this should apply to all our actions.
It is for us professionals to learn to have a work life balance take on only that much work that we can handle efficiently without hurrying our work, avoiding situations which bring stress in our lives which we also transmit to our families. We must have time to do something more meaningful, and leave our footprints on the sands of time. Let us learn to slow down. Let us not rush through life. Let us once in a while stop to smell the flowers of the way side. Let us remember those beautiful lines:
So let us all learn the art of “how to hasten slowly”.
