i swear that minutes really make a difference!

I went to the gym yesterday and scanned thru the magazine rack before hopping up on an elliptical machine to give my brain a distraction for 30 minutes. Magazine selections are always limited at the gym and they never seem to stock up on any reading material I would chose for myself on a normal basis. I guess Gold’s Gym’s clientele aren’t too interested in a subscription to Jane or Cosmo like me. Anyway, I finally settled on an old Shape Magazine and hurried to my machine.

I planned to just flip thru and feel unfulfilled with my choice in about 10 minutes but was pleasantly surprised to run across an article that seemed written just for me. It was titled “How I Learned to Slow Down.” A woman named Jane had written about her own “patience” issues and finally learned how to slow down to start enjoying the little pleasures in life, as well as relieve herself of unneeded stress. I still was unconvinced this article would keep my interest until the end… until I read the first sentence. It described me perfectly, better than I could have described myself. Read for yourself:

“Until recently, I was the type of person who would honk if another driver didn’t hit the gas immediately when the light turned green or roll my eyes if anyone dared to enter the supermarket express line with 11 instead of 10 items in her shopping cart. These people were holding me up – and I had places I to be…Just the thought of precious time wasted turned me into a foot-tapping picture of frustration, even if the slowdown was as minor as getting stuck on the voicemail merry-go-round or behind a poky person on the sidewalk.”

The article continues, she eventually had her “aha” moment and tried a new trick to relax: “Instead of fretting about how this was going to hold me back, what would happen if I just accepted the delay?” She learned to appreciate slowing down on the sidewalks, in traffic, in pharmacy lines, etc. because it allowed her time to de-stress and to even daydream. Besides, how much change could a few minutes truly make?

By the end of the article, I was annoyed. It had taught me nothing I don’t already know! Will honking at the car in front of me to speed up to dash thru the next stop light before it changes red really make all the difference in the long run? Does walking very briskly (and looking annoyed while doing so) around people who walk aimlessly on the sidewalk do any good to my schedule? If the lady hadn’t decided to write a check at the grocery store making seven people wait behind her, would I have had all the time in the world? The answer is no. I realize this. I know that truly those minutes don’t seem to make a difference. They are just minutes. But what if those minutes add up? That can equal fifteen minutes and I can do a lot with those. I can watch half a television show, start cooking dinner, throw a load of laundry in, etc. Those are precious minutes!

Okay, okay so maybe those minutes wont add up, wont make a huge difference, and will most likely be wasted with me just plopped on the couch eating Cheeze-its and playing with the puppy. Maybe I should learn to calm down and honk less, flip off drivers less, toe-tap in anxiety less, or simply be less impatient. But I like feeling rushed. I hate to casually stroll and day dream when I am out and about running errands – if I want to relax, I can do that at home! I like feeling hurried and don’t feel I should need to slow down simply to accommodate the rest of the world. Sorry, just isn’t going to happen when I am 23. Let’s give it another try when I get older, like when I am 52. But I expect to be a busy grandma by then dashing around town to make it to the Senior Citizen brunch at Old Country Buffet…