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DON'T BE IN SUCH A HURRY!
Ted Srinathadas Czukor
January 17, 2005

We always want tedious or troublesome times to be over quickly, don’t we? We want to get to the good, exciting stuff! Of course, the good times seem to go by too fast – we can’t hold onto them or make them last as long as we’d like. And then we’re back to the tedium again.

A word to the wise: Don’t be in such a hurry. Without getting hysterical about it, there are good reasons to slow down and smell whatever roses you may be able to find here and now.

For one thing, the people and animals you love will not be with you forever. It is not melodramatic to say that some day they are going to die. So, while they are here, you should appreciate them as completely as you can. Don’t take your present blessings for granted! 

Even the most painful moments may contain some blessings. Embrace life with full awareness, and find out what they are.

For another thing, if you are constantly rushing to get stuff over and done with, the day will come, sooner than you think, when your entire life is over and done with! If you’ve been rushing too much, you won’t be ready. 

Savor the time you have been given. Observe and learn something from it. Do not expect it to last forever.

This “being in the moment” is a key teaching of many philosophies. It was developed by people who realized the things I have just been telling you. The present moment is the only time in which we can act - whether positively or negatively.

I do not advocate living in fear of death, our own or our loved ones’. But I do advocate a calm, clear-eyed honesty about it. Many people have spent their entire lives stressing-out in reaction to this ultimate fear. Ironically, they could have eliminated that stress by learning to accept the fact that death is going to come for all of us. Fear doesn’t help; it only makes it worse. Death is a fact that we can do nothing about. 

We are not alone in this. In the fullness of time, the whole earth is going to change. Present continents will be submerged and new ones will arise. Our weather patterns and our ancient nations will drop out of all memory. Everything that was discovered, developed, and then lost will have to be rediscovered and developed again. For the planet itself has a life cycle, as does the entire universe. 

The point is not to worry about things we can’t control, but rather to do - right here and now - as much as we can for each other. Love, support, and protect your loved ones while you can. But don’t expect to protect them forever. Don’t take on the impossible stress of thinking that you’re supposed to be God. 

You’re not. Remain mindful and compassionate, and God/Goddess will work through you for as long as He/She needs you as an instrument. You will be given what you are able to do.

When you are needed somewhere else, your circumstances will change. 

And that, too, will be a part of the cycle.

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OM SHANTI, SHANTI, SHANTI
[Peace, Peace, Peace]