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In A Hurry to Go Nowhere
Fredrick was going nuts. He was wearing himself out trying to remember all the helpful books, tapes, and seminars. He knew the Thirteen Characteristics of Extremely Wonderful People (well, he knew four of them, anyway; the wall calendar reminded him of the others); he had the Golden Bag of Ninety-Seven Guaranteed Organizational Skills that Lead to Untold Tidiness (what was that twenty-third one?); he spent hours and hours learning how to save minutes and seconds; he had an autographed copy of Multi-Task Your Ass Off: How to Cram Twenty-Four Hours of Work into Six and One-Half Hours (and a certificate from the follow-up course). To save steps and time, he had, on the advice of an efficiency expert, moved his bed into the bathroom. It screwed up his social life, but he could save thirty seconds a day just by not having to stumble to the facility first thing in the morning. Over a lifetime, that adds up to…let’s see…. Fred could write a letter, peel a potato, and whistle “Dixie,” all at the same time. Wow! He knew how to dress, stress, and obsess for success. One morning, Fred awoke (at exactly 6:25) with a question running through his mind: To what end? He couldn’t shake it; it kept popping up all day. To what end? Since the thought would not go away, Fred set aside three minutes for pondering during his lunch break. “To what end? What am I planning to do with all that time I’m saving? When my productivity increases, don’t they double my workload, and aren’t I still chronically playing catch-up? Is there any point in cramming more activities into my day if I am not enjoying my life? Am I to perform the same meaningless tasks day after day, year after year, for no better reason than to be able to afford a decent funeral?” Fred realized, much to his delight and dismay, that he was not the least bit interested in punctuality, productivity, efficiency, or organization. “That stuff is just boring as Hell.” He saw clearly that all he really wanted was to be at peace. As Fred began to be himself, he noticed that he was naturally productive, organized (as much as necessary), efficient, punctual (within reason), and creative. Creative? “What an unexpected surprise.” He stopped agonizing about saving time and started enjoying his time. “The past is gone, so it doesn’t exist. The future isn’t here yet, so it doesn’t exist, either. It’s always right now. I can learn from the past and plan for the future without sacrificing the present moment, which is all there is. Regret resides in yesterday; dread dwells in tomorrow. Happiness and peace hang out in the here and now, and so, then, shall I.” |