Rebel against rush!

I remember standing in front of an ancient astronomical clock in central Prague a few years back, where all of us were rushing to get a closer look at the working of the clock. On the strike of an hour, it was fascinating to see how for a moment everyone (hundreds of us) stood still to notice the play of status, music and loud gongs. And then within minutes everything went back to madness, people rushing to get photos, including me. All of a sudden we forgot how to stand still and savor the moment.

Of late, I see myself and the world around me (physical and virtual) rushing to get things done. In each aspect of life, we seem to be rushing somewhere, something, somehow. We continue to operate on a very thin layer of patience when things go slow or stall. Many even rush at the cost of life, at traffic signals or train crossings. Whether we get anything significant done from this hurly-burly is a debatable question at best. Sometime back, I was reading the news and pondered how we rush to drop bombs on nations with a click of a button, but drag our feet to settle any disputes, resolve conflicts, or stabilize the war situations.

I understand that there is some sense of thrill in rushing. However, many falsely symbolize it with success or achievements. I am well aware that things don't move if we glue to our seats. However, I can't understand, do we have to hurry in every situation? It might be pointless in certain situations and downright dangerous in others. While it's common sense (rare now) to rush in an emergency, it's shocking to see people rushing in queues, running to grab things from store shelves as if it's the end of the world. Despite our existence on this planet for millennia, I wonder why we are not yet settled with the speed of time?

I, too, rush through the day, squeezing every minute to get things done, even if they are mundane and easy. I am fairly disciplined on most days (hallucination at times), yet at the end of the day, there are so many things pending to do. If only I could come to terms with the fact that I can do only so much, it would be a good starting point to slow down. But it's close to difficult to slow down these days. There is a strange lack of common sense when we are made to believe (sometimes deliberately) that if we don't rush, we will be left behind. The entire virtual world now runs on 30-second clips, where fantasy and reality are mixed. I feel this puts pressure on others to perform, succeed, or compete with the content creator. I am curious to find out how many like me fall for such gimmicks, when I can barely cut an onion in fine cubes in a minute. Is that me, or the algorithm putting pressure on me to increase my expectations?

For a few days, I toggled with this idea of rebelling against any form of rush. Be it at work, meetings, or outside. Which was a bit out of my comfort zone. I found it strange to slow down when I could be fast enough. Since this was a thought experiment, I continued. I noticed the calmness in my head as I focused on a single task. Trying to complete it with good enough progress. Secondly, I slowly moved away from the myth of perfection. Things were getting done with quality and improved accuracy. Lastly, I didn't test my ice-thin patience for mundane tasks, which in turn helped those around me. I acknowledged that while there are obvious benefits of focused work, there are a few sacrifices, such as not being able to multitask. On the contrary, I had time on hand to think through the tasks and do them once. At times, there were minor delays that frustrated a few. But I had to navigate such situations. I had to avoid spending time on social media and outside, which is a bit odd, but I am getting used to it.

Many times, I am the culprit who pushes people around to complete their tasks/jobs fast. However, now I make an effort to think and categorize the tasks/ jobs if indeed they are really urgent, if not I try to resist the urge to hurry. I feel that if all of us start to settle down a bit with our time and not rush unnecessarily, the world might improve at a much faster rate. But if you ponder, despite all the rush, we have hardly moved anywhere. How long I can continue to rebel against rush is still questionable, but there is no harm in trying!