Why I Am Not In A Hurry, And You Shouldn’t Be Either
Learn what is hiding on a deeper level.
For years the only way I moved from one place to another was to rush.
I juggled between a demanding job at the United Nations and Full Time Graduate School at Fordham University. I learned how to jump from the subway to the office, while at the same time skimming news for the morning meeting, replying to emails, and having breakfast with the speed of light. Olympic Athletes would be jealous. I wish I had a timer.
In today’s fast-paced world, you often find yourself in a hurry in the hope of achieving quick results. Technology advancements, increased workload, and societal expectations have contributed to a culture of constant busyness and rushing. It is either a conscious or unconscious desire to do everything in a rush.
Even though you are feeling fine and have plenty of time, there is this internal rush to start checking notifications, messages, emails, or other important activities to drag along the day. You often feel the pressure to do many tasks within limited time frames, meet deadlines, and keep up with the fast pace of modern life.
Yet, what is hiding on a deeper level of that desire?
Hurrying drags an array of negative emotions along the way. Have you noticed how less of a human you are when you are in a rush? How you could flip off another driver in traffic? How you could brush off your mom on the call? Or snub at your son with the words, “Not now, Daddy is in a hurry.”
Let’s jump on a journey to explore that in greater depth.
Being in a hurry is not solely a visible action. It is an internal state that comes from the human desire to speed up time in the hope of achieving the result faster. We may also say, it is an internal aggression toward time.
In Buddhism, being in a hurry is generally seen as a state of mind that arises from attachment, craving, and a lack of mindfulness. Buddhism teaches that hastiness leads to suffering and a loss of presence in the present moment.
So, if being in a hurry accelerates time, then certain actions can can also slow down time.
Have you ever read or heard about the situations, when people are able “to stop” the time?! A classic example from a movie: a soldier sees a shell falling and then something happens to him. Everything starts to slow down. He sees the shell slowly descending to the ground, then notices cracks forming on the shell. From these cracks, bright red, white, and orange substances start to emerge. Then the fragments begin to scatter, followed by an explosion, and so on. And the solder doesn’t suffer. Somehow, he starts to control the process. Even an explosive process.
It’s a strange feeling, this sensation of everything unrealistically slowing down.
When a person slows down time, they have a chance to stay alive even in the most catastrophic situations. Individuals in combat or law enforcement often report time slowing down during life-or-death situations. They describe heightened senses and a slowed perception of events, which enables them to analyze and respond effectively under pressure.
Many athletes have described experiencing a sense of time dilation. For example, Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps mentioned that during his swimming races, he perceived time to slow down. It allowed him to make precise movements and react swiftly to his competitors.
One of the world boxing champions was talking about how to win. He said that in the critical moment, he feel like his opponent starts moving very slowly. And he sees clearly what he needs to do next.
A professional athlete, like a baseball player, may perceive the incoming pitch as moving in slow motion. It lets them react and make split-second decisions with precision. The perception of time altered due to heightened attention. And the brain can process information quicker.
Similarly, individuals in life-threatening situations, such as a car accident, may report perceiving the events unfolding in slow motion. It gives them a heightened sense of awareness and potentially enables them to respond effectively.
Isn’t it fascinating to learn that time “slows down” for many people allowing them to control the situation?
The following thought I have in mind:
if it is evident that it’s possible to “stop” the time, then what do we need to do?
To dig deeper into the substance of that question, I turned to whatever I read and distilled from astronomy. The time dilation effect also exists in black holes. But in the Theory of Relativity, it is associated only with the mass.
Learning from spiritual practices, I know, it’s not only mass that contracts time. But also energy and information.
If that’s the case, then when there is a burst of energy, there should be a time dilation effect.
I thought about it for a moment and came to a realization — when a person has a high internal energy level, in critical situations, they can generate such a powerful energy release that time practically “stops”.
Why does this happen?
It’s because the energy density in a person can be comparable to that of the Sun. If we can harness that energy, we can “stop” the time. Humans receive the most energy from love and kindness. So, if you have a high energy level, meaning possessing love and kindness, you can “stop” or greatly slow down time in critical situations.
If we turn to sacred sources, we will find a wealth of evidence supporting the above statement.
For example, angels took the Prophet Muhammad to meet God. Then God revealed the Quran to him, and upon his return, the water in the pitcher had not yet been poured out. This effect is the time dilation effect, a colossal release of energy.
It means that through energy, we can control time.
Next question I asked myself:
If there is evidence that it’s possible to slow down time, then what happens, if we speed up time?
Time is different for the elderly and for children. For a child, one day feels like a year, yet for an older person one year feels like one day. It means as a person gets older the greater level of acceleration of his time perception has. Old people live in an accelerated time framework.
On another hand, we also have lower energy levels, as we get older. It means that the less energy we have, the faster the kaleidoscope of events around us moves. Our time accelerates. Learning how to “slow” down time means gaining high energy. Then, the advice that you hear around, such as “take it slowly” and “don’t worry about not achieving everything in the future”, means people wish you to live longer.
This insight also sheds light on the Eastern tradition of sitting down before embarking on a journey. It symbolizes the act of relinquishing a goal or letting go of an attachment to a particular outcome. When you are overly eager and focused solely on reaching a destination, you may overlook important aspects of the journey or become consumed by impatience and anxiety. By sitting for a moment before a journey, you symbolically release the grip on the future and surrender to the present moment.
Paradoxically, by detaching from the outcome, you create an opportunity for the goal to manifest. Because, when we are no longer fixated on a specific result, we become more open to different possibilities. Which gives us a chance to approach the situation with greater clarity and ease.
If we compare a weekend travel to a big journey, hence our lives, we will see how “funny tradition” is an invitation to let go of the need for immediate results and instead realign your intentions, reevaluate your approach, and find a more harmonious and authentic path towards your goals.
To plunge further into our deep emotions —
what happens to a greedy person who is in a hurry?
Greed also relates to the acceleration of time and our internal desire to achieve results faster. Humans always want to bring a bright future closer. By chasing the big boss’s dreams and worshipping the golden calf, you pray for the future to come faster. It is a classic scenario of accelerated aging and demise.
People who speed up time drastically lower their energy levels and start getting chronic fatigue and sick, bringing the end closer.
What is the best remedy to stop an inner rushing person? It’s old age. When you start aging, you realize that there’s no need to hurry. Because you don’t even understand where you are rushing to.
It turns out that accelerated time occurs when internal clocks start speeding up. And then, to show the clock what will happen when it speeds up, everything slows down externally. And that’s how aging accelerates.
what about desire and jealousy?
Desire and jealousy, also like greed might cause accelerated aging. The foundation of jealousy lies in the concentration on desire. The feeling of impossibility of accepting the failure of desires.
Desire is about combining the future with the present. When you desire something, you always turn to the future. Either you want to change something in the past. Or you have a goal and you give yourself a promise to achieve it. Which is still in the future.
So, when you have a desire — you have an opportunity to achieve it. The greater desire you have, the greater “the energy of the opportunity” between your goal in the future and the present. Those are two streams of time or two way highway.
But, when you start depending on your desire, when you cling to it, that opportunity suddenly disappears. Energy drops. That’s exactly the moment when you speed up time to possess the goal and achieve it faster.
Hence, when you speed up time, acceleration of time and low energy level become the same. And the feeling of time running fast occurs, when energy diminishes. And as a result, you lose control of the situation.
That’s why a rushing person never controls the situation. And as a consequence of deep internal events —
the one who rushes is the one who is late.
Now after reading all the above, you are probably thinking, ok great what shall I do?!
“Smile, breathe, and go slowly.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh
The truth is if you stop rushing, you are far more likely will do everything on time!
Yep, that’s a contradiction.
Rushing and being late are two sides of the same coin. You can’t have one without the other. When you find yourself in a rush, you believe that to avoid rushing, you must not be late.
Test it out for yourself. You must let go of rushing, internally as well as externally. It’s as much a mindset as a behavior that you are letting go of.
Fair warning through, if you stop rushing, some people might perceive you as naive or even view you as an obstacle.
It seems they believe that being in a rush makes you more productive or useful. Don’t let their perspective influence you.
This journey is like swimming against the tide, as Buddha has described it. It goes against societal norms that encourage unskillfulness, busyness, and delusion. It also challenges our patterns of restlessness. However, by persisting, we discover a sense of calm and stillness. We develop a friendly and peaceful mind.
“Keep calm and carry on.”
And for the curious, I still walk as fast as an athlete on the Olympic track. Well, that’s because it’s my tempo and I like the thoughts fresh air brings for my mind to contemplate.
About the Author:
As a creator, I write my observations from daily life, my spiritual development and business exposure. I share about my meditation and mindfulness experience that I gained from the wisdom of my Master, practice and contemplation. I am also a founder of Buddha Bazaar.
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