Saturday Ramblins, Vol. 3, EXTRA (October 15, 2000)

You know the driver I’m talking about. It’s morning traffic. Things are moving along pretty well but there’s that one guy jumping from this lane to that, every time he perceives the other lane is moving one mph faster than the one he’s in.

He cuts you off with his next lane change, causing brake lights to flash for half a mile back. You are tempted to shout out the window at him, something questioning whether or not a valid marriage existed between his mother and father. He cuts in and out of the lanes two more times. Then, guess what? You end up next to him at a stoplight. What has he gained in his furious impatience? Where is he going? Nowhere, probably. He’s rushing to nowhere.

The rush to nowhere is becoming more symptomatic in this society. Witness so-called “multi-tasking.” We always seem to be in such a hurry that we have to do it all at once. I recently saw a man on the road driving to work. He had a copy of the Wall Street Journal lying against his steering wheel. He was shaving with a cordless razor and had his cell phone propped between his ear and shoulder. I wonder how much of his mind was on his driving. I stayed well away from him being a very protective father of a new Ford Explorer.

Papa Jon and I were speaking on the phone the other day. He mentioned something we learned as kids back in the 50s. In those days, when computers were still in their infancy, it was touted that by the turn of the century, these machines would do so much work for us that the average work week would be 20 hours or less.

Well, it’s the turn of the century. We all have computers at home and work. But I know few people who say they can get it all done in the time they have. It’s no longer a question of taking time out to smell the roses. Now, for many, there is a driven attitude of doing more and more. We double up on the workload at the office (bringing it home on a laptop). We put our kids in every possible activity and face of the logistics of getting them there and back. Then there is scheduling (sometimes literally in a daily planner) time with one’s spouse. Whew! It exhausts me just writing about it.

What’s the cure? I’ll answer that with another question. What’s important? I am not suggesting making a prioritized list. I am just posing the question: what’s important? Rest and leisure – time for yourself – has to be a top priority. Stress can interfere with everything we hold dear. It can also kill us.

During the energy crisis of the early 70s, we were supposed to ask ourselves before getting in our cars, “Is this trip really necessary?" Today, before we dash out to get it all done, we need to ask ourselves, is the rush really necessary? Where are we going? If we risk life, limb and a massive coronary to get there, will it be any better because we did so?

Slow down. And don’t forget those roses in your life.