Rooted, Not Rushed

As I was driving to a long medical appointment, I noticed everyone rushing, cutting people off, the sound of car horns blaring, people speeding…

I could feel real tension on the road…it did not feel good, but it got me to thinking.

What’s the rush?

I’ve had those mornings when I’m rushing, we all do, but driving to an appointment where you’re there for hours just to help you stay healthy makes you think about the rush a little bit differently.

Why do we rush, and what’s the cost of the tension we’re taking on in those moments?

The honking, the yelling in traffic, the speeding, the chaos of it all…just to get to the next place or gathering which we’re likely going to rush through to get to whatever’s next on the carousel of the day.

At a macro level, our lives are somewhat similar.

We spend a lot of time and energy thinking about finishing the meeting, classes, time with our family or friends to rush to the next thing.

And all that rushing comes at a cost. Sometimes it’s sleep, sometimes it’s a meal we skip, a conversation we cut short, or time with someone we love because our minds are already somewhere else.

Sometimes, I think, we're rushing through our lives trying to save five minutes, without asking what we're saving those five minutes for.

And somewhere in all that rushing, we might start neglecting our needs, our bodies, our health, our relationships…even our own lives.

Do we remember what feels good, or are we so busy rushing that we forget what being rooted actually feels like?

This day was different for me.

Typically, after appointments like this, I rush back to my car because I have to get home for a meeting, or a call, or something.

This day though, I stopped. I reminded myself that I was not late for anything.

So I took a breath instead.

And instead of rushing to the car, I let myself just stand there for a moment.

I was going to the same place as always, back to my car to drive home, but instead of rushing, I took my time and enjoyed that moment.

I noticed something.

Rooted felt so much better than rushed.

In that moment, it felt great to feel the sun on my skin, the breeze in the air, to take a breath and enjoy that rooted moment.

I got in my car and noticed that traffic didn’t seem so hectic. Truth is, it probably was the same as the morning, but I felt rooted and aligned so it hit differently on the way home.

For the rest of the week, every time I had a moment where I felt rushed, I took a breath and thought ”rooted not rushed”.

Something else started to happen.

I started to notice more moments like that this week.

The moments…

The smell of coffee or tea before taking a sip.

Hearing birds chirping or kids playing outside.

The moment when you get into bed and feel like you can breathe, and rest.

These moments were the ones that I was so grateful for, not the extra five minutes I may have gotten back by rushing to whatever is next.

My hope is that maybe you notice these moments too.

You know, the ones we likely overlook while rushing.

They might be the best part of your day, and the thing that makes it into your gratitude jar or journal like they did for me.

Rooted, not rushed.

And maybe a little bit more grateful for the moments in between.