I don’t know about you but my days are crammed with so much stuff I sometimes worry how I’ll find the time to breathe. There’s always something lining up for my attention, a long list of calls and emails I need to return, a pile of newspapers and magazines I mean to read, meetings I need to prepare for and attend, and it’s tough to shut all of that off and get any kind of perspective or direction.
Now, I understand full well that a great many people are out there trying to get and keep ahead. Our workaday lives can be all-consuming. We’re coming and going and moving every which way, pretty much all of the time. That’s the reality we live in. Most folks, they believe that if they’re not moving forward they’re falling behind. They have no choice but to chase their paycheck. They’ve got student loans to repay, mortgages to service, mouths to feed. I get that—and believe me, I’m not looking to talk anyone down from that position. Trying to make ends meet puts a lot of us on an endless loop, where time always seems to be running out on us, and it starts to feel like we’re going through the motions of living. Some of us are working two or three jobs just to keep our households going, and I’m not suggesting here that this rush to solvency isn’t important—heck, it’s vital.
But what’s also vital is the need to step off the treadmill for a beat or two, every here and there. Let’s call it a rush to silence—and let’s agree to take a look at how we might dial down the heat and haste of our days. Much as we might think we need to fill every waking moment in a seemingly productive way, to keep moving full speed ahead, all out, all the time, in truth we all need to take a moment.
Please select this link to read the complete article from Maria Shriver.