As I’ve traveled through this life, I’ve been waiting for a lot of things: movie tickets, a job opportunity, a phone call, etc. I must admit that sometimes Tom Petty was right. The waiting truly is the hardest part. From time to time, I remember to hustle while I wait by thinking or doing other things while I wait. Sometimes the waiting is all that can be seen. Putting our lives on standby is such a human thing to do. As John Lennon put it “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.” It’s easy to get fixated on the things that we want for the future because it’s where we’re heading.
The present on the other hand is fleeting. By the time that you notice that it’s here, it’s gone. Yet it’s all the time we get. Much of it gets squandered in the waiting for what is next or longing for what has passed. Now is often the hardest place to live because it takes focus, discipline and urgency. That’s right, the present is an urgent circumstance that needs your attention NOW. Yet it requires a delicate hand because forcing the present to be more than it is creates an imbalance in perspective. While every moment is urgent, not every moment is of equal importance. So it is incumbent upon us to use the now that we have in order to prepare for the now that we want. It’s an odd idea to be urgently patient but it is all that we can do.
I’m not sure that anyone will ever get this perfectly right and I might very well be the worst at it. However I’ll endeavor to get better. Be urgent in my pursuit of the moments that are here while preparing for the moments that I want in the future. Spending as many nows as I can moving forward, possibly millimeters at a time. It may not be much but it is progress, however slight.
What are you waiting to hurry up for?
Pete
Huryk Unlimited 