Speed Walking

Life is hectic. I’ve got to be here and then I’ve got to be there. This person needs something from me, then that person needs something else. I’m moving as fast as I can and somehow still feel like I’m letting someone down. I can’t seem to do it all and as a result I feel like I’m failing.

In my attempts to do all the things I think I need to do, I find myself speed walking through most of my days. I need to get to the next meeting or appointment as quickly as possible. I need to push through this paperwork as rapidly as I can so I can move on to the next task. I need more hours in my day; I need more time; I need fewer roadblocks placed in my path by others who refuse to see that I don’t have time for the things that don’t directly help me deliver what I need to.

While these thoughts were swirling through my head (and I’m sure I’m not alone) a break in my schedule unexpectedly appeared. A good friend saw the opening and invited me to share our lunch-break together. I took him up on the offer, but was secretly processing how much I could accomplish if I was able to take this newfound time, and use it to catch up on some backlogged paperwork in my office.

We decided to leave the office and grab lunch at a local diner, and as we left something profound happened. My friend, who knew well how concerned I was about my workload, slowed his walk. It was not so slow that it was worthy of comment, but it was dramatically slower than my now normal cadence. He walked, and now I was forced to walk, at a pace that even changed the conversation we were having.

I had never consciously realized it before, but it is almost unnatural to be anxious or frustrated while on a slow walk. We talked of work and family during our short journey to the diner and back, all with a calmness that had been vacant from my day thus far.

I know that our short journey together today is what my day was about and it is a reminder of the larger journey that life is about. If I walk too fast, I’ll risk stumbling or missing the gifts; I may accomplish more things but I will live life less.

If I walk too fast, I actually risk failure more than I do by missing some deadline at work. It’s easy to get caught in the trap of achieving things and not achieving your life’s purpose. Time passes and tomorrow always seems like the day that things will break and you’ll be able to do the “other stuff” you really want your life to be about, but then the same pattern ensues.

That’s when it’s time for a walk. A nice slow walk with a good friend.