Live without Rushing

By Guy Finley

http://AshtarCommandCrew.net In Partnership With OmTimes

We’ve all probably “run over” someone emotionally or hurt a friend, a loved one, or even a complete stranger while racing to get somewhere or do something “important.” Then, we regret it — most likely too late to do any good.

There may be no greater self-deception than the false notion that rushing through anything actually helps us in any way whatsoever. After all, if anxious thoughts and feelings had any power to deliver us to a place or time where peace awaits, don’t you think we’d have gotten there by now? Let there be no mistake here:

When it comes to being in a hurry, what difference does it make how fast you can get somewhere when all you find there is the next thing for you to rush through?

The following five lessons contain special insights into the invisible pressure-filled states that cause human beings to run themselves ragged. The more clearly we can see that it’s impossible to reach a place of rest by rushing to get there, the sooner we’ll arrive at the true solutions that allow us to relax, slow down, and realize the relaxed pace of an inwardly liberated life. Study each of these lessons separately, but see them as telling one story whose happy ending goes something like this: You not only find the courage you need to step out of the rush, but you also awaken to a whole new order of yourself that gets everything done without you doing yourself in!

1. Anyone who rushes through life always finishes last! This is a truth unseen by the masses, but evident to those weary of going nowhere fast. You race as you do to escape the unhappiness you feel being where you are, running towards what you imagine will free you from that dissatisfaction. But such races are always lost before they begin because you can’t outrun yourself!

2. Patience is a great virtue whose cost is paid by becoming painfully conscious of what our impatience does to others.

3. Allowing the rushed state of another person to push you into an anxious state of mind is like letting the horse you’re about to ride convince you to wear the saddle!

4. Rushing through life lends the one who habitually hurries the feeling of being “important,” but loans such as these come at the high cost of always having to justify one’s unkindness — like when we have to convince ourselves that our impatience with others is a necessary evil along the way to that “greater good” towards which we think we run.

5. The most important thing to remember whenever you find yourself in a mad rush is that what you are really trying to get to is a quiet mind… a peaceable state of self reached only by realizing there is no place more empowering for you to be than in the present moment.

About the Author

Guy Finley is the best-selling author of more than 40 books and audio albums on self-realization. He is the founder and director of Life of Learning Foundation, a nonprofit center for self-study located in southern Oregon where he gives talks four times each week. For more information visit www.guyfinley.org, and sign up to receive a free Starter Kit which includes an e-book, a 60 minute MP3 of one of Guy’s talks, access to our Wisdom Library and more.

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