Still In A Hurry

This afternoon I went out for a run with my dog. It’s a little chilly, so we had a lot of the sidewalks to ourselves. The ease of having enough personal space in this time of social distancing was as pleasant as the sunshine. We were both enjoying ourselves, so we decided to run a bit further.

Before we made the final turns for home, I spotted another runner ahead running towards us. Maintaining proper etiquette, the other runner turned down a driveway and headed into the street so we could each maintain our six-foot minimum bubbles. I recognized the red beard and shoes from half a block away. It was a familiar face, and I was looking forward to shouting my hello when we crossed paths.

Our intersection timed itself to happen in an intersection, but traffic has been light these days and neither of us planned on stopping to chat anyway. Just as my dog and I took our first steps into the street, I saw a small head shake and an are you kidding me? look on my friend’s face as he reached his curb. We both adjusted our paces to allow the car to speed between us. Then, we both stopped in the street as the second car made their left turn.

All four of us; runner, runner, dog, and driver stopped. The driver, trying to hide his mistake, did the polite thing and let the pedestrians with the right of way pass before he continued through the intersection. Had none of us stopped, the driver would have plowed through my friend, my dog, and me. Once my friend and I completed our crossings, the driver sped away, delayed an extra two-seconds. All because he couldn’t spare two-seconds in the first place.

My friend and I both looked back at each other, yelled quick hellos and continued our runs. The moment was easy for me to shake off; I was never worried about the collision happening. As a runner, you learn to adjust and wait, because a car is always bigger than you. So in the aftermath of the moment, I was thinking about the two drivers, especially the one in the second car. Why was he still in such a hurry?

There was no oncoming traffic. It wasn’t one of those moments where if the driver yielded to pedestrians he was going to have to wait several minutes before he could continue on with his day. This was broad daylight, and if he had looked left at all, we would have been hard to miss. There was no reason for the driver to be rushing and breaking traffic laws.

Of course, maybe he did have a reason. Maybe someone was sick or injured and he was racing them to care. Maybe he was racing home with explosive diarrhea. But his passenger seat was empty, and it didn’t feel that way. The look on his face simply said that his day was more important, so he needed to be moving fast.

Except, right now, there is no need to be in a hurry. There is nowhere to rush off to, and there is nowhere any of us needs to be at a perfectly specific time. Suddenly, everything that seemed important can wait. The only exception is a true emergency.

These days, I find myself with plenty of time in the day. I have time to read as much as I want to, to run as much as I want to, and to write as much as I want to. There is time to clean the house, prepare all my meals, and pull out my sewing machine for the first time in years. I have time to learn to roast my own coffee, and time to finish chipping away the painted over layers of wallpaper in the hallway. 

Our past few weeks have been a lesson in slowing down. We have all been asked to cut back on our chaotic lifestyles and to stay home as much as possible. We have been asked to only leave the house for essential errands and exercise. 

I know not everyone is getting the gift of extra time right now. For plenty of people this pandemic means more chaos. It means trying to work full time from home while homeschooling children and keeping a household healthy. But, there is still time for every single one of us to try slowing down.

If you are still in a hurry, you are probably only adding to your stress levels and your own personal chaos. And you are probably adding stress to those in your isolation bubble, which is in turn stressing you out more. 

Stop. Take a deep breath. Try your best to slow down.