Rush Slowly

I have always been an impatient person. I get antsy when I have to wait in a line be it at the supermarket, the bank, even in traffic, I would occupy myself by fretting over how much longer would I have to wait. All this was before I discovered the art of meditation. Now I see any wait as a time to go within.

Now when I see that I may have a little wait, I join the queue and begin to deepen my breath and relax my body. The sensation is amazing. You can actually feel yourself sinking into yourself like you are being cradled within a floating cushion of warm welcoming air. Your mind expands and your physical body unburdens itself and before you know it, the cashier is beckoning you to approach the counter.

I am sure that many of you can relate to what I am saying, the impatience, the constant rush to get to the next place so that we can rush from there as well; the disquiet in the mind leading to tension in the body and we are all familiar with what happens at this point. We become stressed. We are so busy heading to nowhere fast that we miss the opportunity to discover the most beautiful gift lodged inside ourselves, that of being quiet, getting still, and going within.

The next time you feel the need to put getting there and getting it done into overdrive and you get impatient with everyone else around you who is not busy enough, not moving fast enough, not clearing space because you are coming through, I encourage you to pause, feel for the calm that is always within and change your pace to a slow rush.