Hurry!

Why hurry when no matter how slowly or quickly you move through life, tomorrow will always come. Enjoy it.

“Hurry, get your shoes on, you’re going to be late for school!”

“Hurry, tidy up your room so we can start the day!”

“Hurry, eat up so we can get going.”

“Hurry, let’s get the kids to bed, I’d love some quiet.”

Sound all too familiar? Hurry. It’s a phrase I’ve recently recognized I use and abuse. I find myself with a constant internal dialogue of “hurry this, hurry that.” Always rushing before the baby wakes up, before school lets out, before the morning rush and ironically hurrying to bed, just to start all over again tomorrow.

It got me thinking. Why am I in such a hurry, always in a rush to get things done? When in reality- there is no timeframe, no deadline, just this internalized necessity to hurry through life without any real foundation of the need.

Recently I took a moment to evaluate the cause of my constant anxiety. I came to realize that my anxiousness is solely caused by my need to rush. Feeling as though I need to barrel through the day full speed to get to the end, plow through my to do’s only to repeat the steps again like a broken record. Not only are my days rushed, but my connection with the world is busy and far too consuming.

Society has created a generation of rush. Developed technology, social media platforms and a fast paced world of instant gratification from 2 day shipping, to books streaming through your headset in seconds. A world where connecting with others is a click away or an online order is a simple voice command. We’ve established a constant connection between our phones and the outside world. A generation accustomed to immediate responses, immediate needs fulfilled and immediate answers obtained. A generation that has internalized this urgency to check messages, emails, to stay connected and to be responsive. But why?

I heard a quote recently. “If the devil can’t make you sin, he’ll make you busy.” - The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry. These words hit me like a ton of bricks. I realized I’m allowing my time to be stripped from me. Precious time that could be spent with my family, my friends, my children, my husband and most importantly God. Imagine if the time we’ve spent rushing was focused on the quality time that we’ve missed.

The norm is an established social life, participation in extra curricular activities, playdates and volunteer work. It’s taking on that next project, watching just one more show or scrolling through just one more TikTok reel as our time slips away. No matter how our time is spent, it seems to be spent rushing; full of to do’s and distractions. Somewhere along the way, it’s as though we’ve internalized this false persona that we are of less importance, unproductive or missing out if we aren’t submersed in the things of the world. When simply- we are missing out on life itself.

I’ve had this major revelation that life is made up of moments that create a bigger picture. It’s not about the destination- it’s about the journey. Why hurry through the mess when the mess is going to accumulate again. Why rush to respond to a text when our time could be spent listening to a loved one. Why hurry through our kids bedtime when one day, we’ll tuck them in for the last time only to realize we missed it.

I want my life story to be made up of crystal clear shots that I can place in a mental motion picture book - reliving it years to come. I don’t want to look back to see blurry images and my days in fast motion.

Doesn’t your life story sound so much more appealing, pleasant and peaceful by moving slowly through each page? A life lived with intention through experiences and walked with mind-fullness through each day. So let’s give ourselves permission to slow down. To appreciate our days and the moments that create them; without the hurry. Let’s allow ourselves to move freely through each day, breaking the habit of rush. Let’s observe our children and their naiveness of fleeting time. Remember the days when summers seemed to last a lifetime? Those days are now over in the blink of an eye. A naiveness that as adults, we’ve been unpleasantly stripped of with age and maturity. What if we adopt the innocence of our childhood again- change our habits of rushing and start living our days appreciating and valuing each moment and experiencing them with intention.

How about we take a minute to disconnect. Put our phones down and unplug. Witness life in person instead of behind a lens. Capture mental pictures instead of digital ones. Give ourselves permission to respond later, check later, scroll…later. Let’s choose to be present and engaged, to slow our pace, find peace in the chaos, to rest and be still. Because one of these days, all of the moments that make up our story will be memories. So you choose, how will you live your story?