THE SLOW LANE

The busier life gets, the more immersed in our daily ‘routines’ we become. And it is during this time that we forget to come up for air.

Perhaps this is a metro thing. Or maybe just a Los Angeles thing. But I’ve noticed people keep going, going and going on with their daily lives and routines to the point where everything becomes ‘automatic pilot.’

From the first coffee of the day, to the non-stop 16-18 hour days involving work hours and long commutes, to the weekends of pure vegetation into nothingness, what seems lost is the sense of community, sense of life and people’s true place in it. And while I am here to encourage life in the slow lane, this doesn’t mean that because you sit in traffic, you are getting the most out of life.

It was while watching an isolated turtle breathe, that I realized that there is a difference between choosing to come up for air and choosing to come out for a bit of rest and relaxation. The line is a fine line, but one that is distinct if you look closely.

Make no mistake – whether in a crowd of one hundred or sitting in a circle of five, one can feel alone. And sometimes when sitting all alone, you can feel as if you are in a crowd of one million and no one will leave you alone just to ‘be’ and give you the space and peace you need to gather your thoughts, to free up your mental space.




I believe it is essential to come up for air, but I also believe it is essential to come out for rest and relaxation. The difference is in your free will, and your willingness to allow and enable that time to be yours, to be pure, to be quality and to be present… emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually.

It’s vital to be a willing participant in life in order to fully comprehend the ultimate sense of what life is and isn’t. It’s important to get alone with your head sometimes and not have the hustle and bustle of daily life rip away at your energies and sense of self. It is in this process we learn how far we’ve come, how much we’ve grown and how much more we have yet to learn.

If we don’t take this time, we become so wrapped up in our own world, we miss the world that exists outside of ourselves, the real world going on outside our car windows and office doors.

It’s also revealing and humbling to know that for the most part, certain parts of the world live life better than we do. They understand the true meaning of life is making the most of it – good and bad and mostly WITHOUT, because they don’t need anything other than a ‘time out’ or ‘time with’ and just ‘time’ to be with themselves, and with others on their terms of enjoying life. It’s about paying attention, not just paying bills. It’s about taking stock in life and those you love, not taking stock in the stock market. It’s about enjoying a glass of wine and a sunset, instead of whining about how hot the sun is.

Most of us here in America live life backwards because we’re too busy and keep going forward. And those who keep going forward are in dire need to go backward because they’ve missed what life is truly all about.

So the next time you come up for air, or come out for rest and relaxation – no matter what, take it slowly. This isn’t a speedway. And it’s important to not become obsessed with the rat race. Because in the end you’re really only racing toward death anyway.

So if you take life slowly, not only will you savor it more and enjoy it more, but you’ll see that it’s all in how you arrive at the conclusion of what life is all about in the first place… especially if you’re in last place.

© 2009 Queena Verbosity 100% Real Words
Media Monster Communications, Inc.
Stacey Kumagai
http://www.100percentrealwords.blogspot.com
http://hubpages.com/profile/mediamonster
http://www.braingasm.com