On Speed & the Art of Being

Do you remember the tigers in “Little Black Sambo” racing around the tree? Eventually they went so fast that they turned into a puddle of butter.

It seems that the 21st Century has pushed us into hyper drive—and I do mean hyper.

I realized this in a personal, visceral way when I found myself chauffeuring a friend six days a week recently.

I’d get on the freeway, pull into the fast lane, and barrel along with the flow at about 75mph. Coming home alone, even listening to interesting talk shows on the radio, I was still racing in the fast lane.

After a few days of this we were on our way once again when the realization arrived: I used to enjoy driving, but I hadn’t been enjoying this at all. I’d gotten sucked into a slipstream of frenetic energy hurtling up the freeway—and felt infected by the stress of the speeding people all around me.

I took a deep breath, pulled over a couple of lanes and slowed down to about 65mph. On this four-lane freeway there were now cars passing me on both sides, but I was in my own bubble of calm—relaxed and peaceful, watching the rest of the world rush by. And this is where we are meant to be: the eye of the hurricane; the island of calm in the ocean of madness.

It was interesting to realize kinesthetically that a) there was a frenzy of energy in the environment, and b) I could intentionally and consciously remove myself from it.

This may be applied to Life in general—and must be if we are to retain our sanity amidst the madness.

STEP OUT OF THE SLIPSTREAM OF SPEED that is burning out your life before its time and take a deep breath. Exhale fully with your mouth open and a ‘hah.’ Now do it again. This is a way to deliberately relax and move into the moment. The moment is where Life takes place—to be ‘present’ to the moment is to be present to Life. It’s a very simple thing.

Listen for birdsong. See if you can observe the world the way an animal does: without thought. Be still— outside and in—and observe the environment around you without projecting yourself into it.

I’ll say it another way:
Let go of the identification with the body/mind organism and, as pure Consciousness, observe the environment around you.

Feel the observer that exists behind your eyes: the sense of pure existence before it is obscured by the layers of mis-identification.

What about this mis-identification?

Think about it: why are we so attracted to babies? When a baby is born it is pure—pure Love and pure Consciousness. (We are attracted to babies like flies to honey—it is the sweetness of purity that is so alluring.)

Slowly, slowly, that pure Consciousness is programmed to identify with not-Self. Slowly, slowly, the layers of obscurity are applied.

We are taught to identify with our hair, our clothes, our shoes, our activities, our relationships, our cars, our jobs, our achievements or the lack thereof, our homes, our jewelry, our lips, our muscles and our fat!!!

We completely overlook the fact that when we die, our body decomposes, our positions cease to exist and our possessions now belong to another. What have we actually achieved??

Have our lives been meaningful in terms of the unconditional love we have generated on the planet? Have we made the life of another somewhat less difficult for our kindness or generosity? Have we inspired anyone to find fulfillment from the inside out?

The excuse of ‘not having enough time’ is a fallacy. Time is not fixed. It can and will stretch to accommodate your needs. If you are concentrated enough, time will even stand still. You would be amazed to discover how much you can accomplish if you slow down enough and really focus on what you are doing.

So rather than allowing yourself to be goaded into daily frenzy, take your own time to Be. Use your breath and deliberately slow down. Be present to what shows up in the moment and respond, ie. make the bed when you arise; wash the dish after eating; put something back after using it.

If you allow yourself to be comfortably in the moment, you will be astonished at how peaceful and satisfying your Life will become. Breathe, and Be.