January 25th 2010 - Lucy

I have so many things I want to write about, but I've got to tell this story first. On Saturday, I noticed the name "Lucy" at least a couple of times. I know that when something out of the ordinary strikes me twice or more in the same day, there is probably something more to it. I was thinking to myself, "Lucy? Is this something about "I Love Lucy," the old show, or is this just another one of those coincidental "echoes" I've see so many times before?"

On Sunday, I was at the cash register in our store, ringing out a lady's purchases. As she was paying, I noticed a large picture of a pretty, young lady in her wallet. She saw me glance at the picture and she said, "That's my daughter. She died recently." I was taken aback and didn't know what to say. I just said that she was very pretty. The woman told me that the daughter had been a model. She was 33 when she died of breast cancer. The woman then proceeded to tell me that she now tells people not to rush through Life. She recommends that we take Life slowly and enjoy it. It'll be over before we know it.

Before the woman left, she told me that if she liked one of the products that she was buying to try out, she would be back for more. She asked my name, and I told her. After she had already started walking away, something prodded me to call after her for her name. "Excuse me. What's your name?" I asked. "Lucy," she called back loudly, as she was already some distance away. I can't even explain the feeling that coursed through me as she said it. I felt that she looked at me with a knowing glance. Could have been my imagination. My whole body was tingling, at any rate.

It has come more to my attention recently that one of my traits has always been to rush through Life. I have always been a very fast eater, for example. There is a favorite story in my family about the time we stopped at a highway rest stop to eat, in my childhood, and I completely devoured a gargantuan breakfast before the waitress came back to the table with everybody else's meals. My grandparents constantly reminded me that no one was going to steal my food. When I was around 30 years-old, one of my bosses noted that I was always scurrying everywhere. I never forgot that comment for some reason. I've also been known to often be running late to events, and therefore in a rush to make up for lost time. Always in a rush.

I've recently been intrigued with how little time we actually have. I calculated that someone who lives to the age of 75 lives only 3900 weeks. That's only 3900 weekends. How quickly do the weeks roll by? It's Saturday again. It's Saturday again. After only 3900 times, your 75 years old!!! Lucy was right. Time is fleeting.

Sometimes Life brings us emergencies, and we have no choice but to act quickly. I remember in the Haiti Telethon a story about a woman who dug for 50 hours straight to try and get her baby out from under some rubble, before a rescue team spotted her and pulled her baby out alive. If she had given up at any time and walked away, the rescue team may not have even noticed the baby.

But Life isn't always an emergency. Many of us live Life as if every day is an emergency. We find so many reasons to rush, because we are afraid that if we relax, maybe we will miss out, we will make less money, we will lose our position in the rat race or whatever. At what cost, though? How many of us live in almost a constant state of anxiety? Is there any amount of money that is worth living in a constant state of suffering? A lot of people sacrifice several years of their lives for some expected windfall in the 2nd or 3rd or 4th or .... year. Sometimes the payoff never comes. The best laid plans of mice and men...

It's very hard to enjoy Life if you can't relax. There are times when we are going to feel a need to get things done quickly, and some emergencies will come. When the emergencies pass, can we get out of our Fight or Flight Mode long enough to take a deep breath? To notice a rarely-seen bird singing a special song to us in a nearby tree? To notice a honey bee floating inside a colorful flower gathering sweet stuff? Or are we so wrapped up, that we're just anticipating the next emergency?

Think about it. I am.

I am not suggesting that we spend our whole lives sitting on our backs watching the clouds roll by. It can be a lot of fun to accomplish things, and that usually takes great effort. Are you enjoying Life, though? Are you able to sit back and relax, sometimes? The body and mind require rest to function well, you know. Or do you? I'm going to make more effort to heed Lucy's advice, and that might require making less effort. Sometimes less is more.

Gratefully,
Alan