Why we need to stop rushing through life and embrace now

I feel as though we are constantly rushing into things. Rushing to get something done, and if we don’t then we feel as the whole world just crumbled down in front of us. But, why do we constantly do that? It’s not healthy, we are not happy and it just makes us way more anxious than we should be normally.The feeling of rushing prevents us from enjoying the little things in life.

You (we) rushed to finish college. To get a job. To buy a car. To buy a house and/or get our own place. To take our first vacation. To furnishing our own place. To do this, to do that. Let’s stop wishing for that, or this, and stop rushing to get there, and do that. Let’s enjoy the moment.

“Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished. -Lao Tzu”

Motherhood

We are constantly rushing to get the kids breakfast, to get the kids dressed, to get them to drop off at school without being late because if we are late, then we failed as moms. Then, if we make it on time, then we are rushing back home or rushing to the store to grab groceries, because that’s what we said we would do and if we don’t then, again we failed. Then we may or may not be looking like a hot mess, because we were rushing to get out the door rather than taking the extra five minutes to make ourselves look and feel better.

Being rather then Doing

We are often caught up in doing rather then being. Being can simply mean sitting right where you are and observing everything that is around you, in the moment without any judgement. Take a few moments out of your day to just do that – allow yourself to just be. Being present in the moment and not worrying about the overflown laundry basket, all the cleaning that needs to be done and the dishes that need to be put away.

Especially when our little one is sick, everything gets turned upside down and everything you planned on getting done gets pushed to the back burner, but your anxiety doesn’t let you live as it haunts – so instead, let it go and let go of control and be present right there and enjoy those baby cuddles you’re getting, because they won’t last forever. We always say that our babies grow up too fast. So enjoy them, enjoy the moments.

Enjoy your Coffee

Let’s take coffee for example. We are busy moms and on most mornings chug our coffee and move on with the day. It’s almost like a standard ritual to have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning. Personally, I don’t like to chug my coffee, and I don’t like to just rush to drink my coffee. I actually, like to enjoy my coffee.

How about you? Do you find yourself on most days just chugging coffee to survive, almost like a daily (morning) ritual to have a cup of coffee? How about for a change today (or tomorrow) you take an extra few minutes to actually enjoy your coffee. I will get up ten or fifteen minutes before everyone just to be able to enjoy my coffee hot and in peace. It’s definitely hard to get up earlier, but it’s worth it.

Embrace Now

It’s easy to get caught up in the moment, routine and just moving on. But, if we keep rushing through things, through life we will forget to live life, be present and enjoy the moments. Embrace now, embrace the moment you’re in and let that sink in. Take a deep breath, and think about your day and how you want to set the mood for the rest of the day.

Instead of rushing to get the kids to nap, and getting frustrated because they didn’t nap at a given time and now you cannot start the lunch you were going to start because they haven’t fallen asleep – embrace the now. So what if they didn’t nap at a given time, and so what if today they decided to skip their nap, just adjust yourself and how the rest of the day will be based on that. I always say, never set any expectations as mom life in itself is not predictive.

Slowing down just a little has taught me the power of pausing and gathering perspective.

If you surrender completely to the moments as they pass, you live more richly those moments. – Anne Morrow Lindbergh

I want to forever remember these moments with my little ones, the memories we have created and are creating along the way. Just for example, after we drop off Vasilije at school we walk to the library and instead of rushing to get to the library I let Mateja walk at this pace and stop for everything he wants to. Like, stopping to see the construction workers building a buildingh. Stop for the guy that’s blowing the leaves. Stop to see the squirrel eating. Stop to see the fire truck passing. Etc. you get the idea. Stop and smell the roses, for once.

So what do you think about this, do you find yourself always rushing through things, through life in general? Will you, just for today, pause, take a moment out of your day and enjoy it? I would love to know your thoughts.