Monday, October 23, 2023
Rarely does the present moment need such absolute urgency. Too often we misjudge what’s required by the moment. Must we be so severe all the time? Does everything have to be solved or taken care of now? When there is a need for action, evaluate it more carefully. If there is no need for action, pause and wait. You can live with a little hunger. You can live with a task list, a waiting room full of people, or a deadline. You can live with a little traffic. You can live with obstacles until the path clears. Don’t turn everything into an enemy. A lot of times, leaving it allows it to self-correct.
That’s how my grandmother quit smoking. She put her cigarettes in a cookie jar and every time she had an urge, she’d go to said cookie jar and think to herself, “I can wait thirty more minutes.” Eventually she beat the urge. Urgency can be overcome with a little clarity and space; however, sometimes, you just gotta go, especially if you’ve eaten spicy food! But don’t mistake everything for that feeling of urgency.
Socrates said, “Need will be our greatest creator.” The moment presents and you respond. But we often turn the moment into an overblown fiasco. The mind gets ahead, but leaving it alone might be the best thing, for now. Is there really a dire need? Train yourself to recognize exactly what the moment requires, not more or less. You may find you’re applying too much energy and being premature. Urgency is an illusion and can be disarmed by putting the trigger in the cookie jar, so to speak. Frenetic frenzy keeps your blood pressure up and your productivity down. It keeps you from what you really need – to pay attention to what the moment requires. More times than naught, it requires a simple, calm response or none at all.