Berm Drivers

READY8 “Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.” ~ W.H. Auden

AIM8 Berm drivers. I know you have seen them in action. It’s the car or truck who, when stuck in traffic on a highway, chooses to drive up the berm alongside the parked traffic to attempt to jump ahead of the jam. Now, you and I both know there is no open space ahead for that vehicle to cram itself into the flow. However, even though what they are doing is illegal, some kind soul always let’s that impatient driver weasel their way into the front of the pack. Ugh, it’s so frustrating! Why can’t he or she just wait in line like the rest of us drivers?

It seems like our whole society is just so impatient with life in general anymore. We gotta have everything right away, this instant or immediately. Emails, text messages and phone calls connect us with others within seconds. At work, of course you needed to meet that important deadline yesterday so you have to overnight your order to get it as a “speedy delivery” to a customer who’s screaming because they can’t wait any longer. Rush, rush rush! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Why have we developed such unrealistic expectations? It’s no wonder we are stressed to the max and collapse on the couch at the end of the day when we finally get a chance to slow down or pass out in bed at night because it’s the only way to turn life off.

Take a breath. Life is too short to constantly be rushing through life that you just let it zoom right past you. When your routines are speeding up, slow down. When you are stuck in traffic or in a long grocery line, enjoy a few moments to simply breathe. Don’t be so quick to get impatient. Those breathing moments are built into our lives for a reason. Be aware, as you go through your day, to recognize the opportunities where you can shift your life into a lower gear…and enjoy the ride.

FIRE!8 Stop and smell the roses. What can you do differently to slow down today? Change the route you drive home from work or lie down in the grass with your children and look for shapes in the clouds. Whatever you do, remember to breathe.

Be Excellent!
Lori