Lindbergh on Hurry
September 30, 2008
From the writings of Anne Morrow Lindbergh comes this sobering quote on hurry. You will find it on page 512 of Celtic Daily Prayer which quotes it from “Bring Me a Unicorn”:
Let’s get your thoughts on the greatest danger of hurry in your life.
In the Present Moment
Hurry is an unpleasant thing in itself, but also very unpleasant for whoever is around it. Some people came into my room and rushed in an rushed out and even when they were there they were not there–they were in the moment ahead or the moment behind. Some people who came in just for a moment were all there, completely in that moment.
Live from day to day, just from day to day. If you do so, you worry less and live more richly. If you let yourself be absorbed completely, if you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly in those moments.
I do not think it is lack of time that keeps me from doing things, it is that I do not want enough to do them.
Well, thanks Anne. You speak truth to the inner man.
The reality Lindbergh describes, probably from experience, challenges me to intend to live more in the moment.
This is the sad thing about hurry: it robs us of the joy of the moment and dulls our senses to experience the present. Since hurry has no present and no presence it is not profitable to anyone.
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Hello all,
i have recently started to the celtic daily prayer offices - I read the exact same comments about hurrt and reflected on the riches of living in the moment - great minds think alike!!
Rodney
George — excellent post! It was exactly what I needed to read today. It seems like I push through nearly every single moment of each day to accomplish task after task on my to-do lists. And after reading this post, I realized it is always ‘unpleasant’ to rush and be rushed! I could just ask my kids, as I hover and encourage (okay, rush) them to stop lolly-gagging and get their school work or chores completed so we can check it off and get to the next one!
Now the phone rings, and I have to stop to answer — it’s Brad wanting to discuss something and I am in a hurry to post this so I can get on with our school day, the kids are now wrestling in the schoolroom instead of doing their devotions (and having a great time, while I stress out that they are not accomplishing their assigned tasks) and now another email pops up as I continue to type, and again I realize that all this rushing is very unpleasant.
So today, starting right now, I am going to breathe deep and live more richly, worry and rush less, and surrender myself completely to the moments as they occur.
Thanks for the post. mischele
Welcome on board Rodney!
Mischele, glad you’re not in too much of a hurry to blog a little.
I pray you do well with your decision. I pray that Jesus your ever constant companion will remind you to be present to God in the moment when you are tempted to rush.
One day Caleb and Joshua will not be in proximity where they can wrestle. I hope they will really miss it!
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