Speeding Through Life...

I got a speeding ticket while on a business trip in Omaha the other day. I was clocked at 48 miles per hour in a 25 mile per hour zone! Pretty dumb on my part! Pretty expensive, too ($244)! I was attempting to get a colleague of mine to the airport in a hurry so that he would not miss his flight to Salt Lake City. We were only about a mile or two away from the airport and deeply immersed in our conversation when I got pulled over. It was a shock! I had obviously not been paying any attention to the road and/or the speed limit for that road.

You know, I could probably protest the speeding ticket and try to wiggle my way out of it. It was obviously part of a "speed trap" the Omaha police had set up and it seemed a little unfair for it to be at this particular location. But, the fact of the matter is speeding is speeding. The law is the law. I was going over the posted speed limit so I deserved a ticket. There are many very good reasons for "limits" like this. Sometimes we just need to travel a little bit slower through life.

Earlier in the week when I had been "texting" while I was driving and/or checking e-mails at stop lights, I remember thinking to myself, "I probably shouldn't be doing this. It's probably not safe." What's the hurry anyway? Is it really necessary for me to be handling all of that stuff on the go? I think I'm ready to stop speeding through life...

Why is it that being on the move and always busy seems to be a higher value these days? What are we really accomplishing by traveling so many miles and doing so many things? Is it worth it? Have you (have I) even stopped our busy-ness long enough to think about it? Have you ever taken the time to assess what you are missing by speeding through life?

Since it is Memorial Day weekend, and a lot of us (at least in the USA) will have a day off (a "holiday") tomorrow, here's a list of things for you to consider instituting into your life to try and minimize the negative impacts of speeding through life:

- Take time to sit and think/pray over a good breakfast each morning.
- Slow down on your drive to work and smile at the people in the cars next to you.
- Put up some boundaries for how many hours you'll actually work in any one day.
- Take time to get to know your "neighbors" better (in the next office/cubicle at work, at home, wherever?).
- Compose a hand-written letter to someone special in your life telling them how much you love/admire them.
- Take a walk and really notice the flowers, birds, animals, other people along the way.
- Avoid the internet and social media for a week (or more!) and read a really good book (or two?) instead.
- Plan a vacation at home just to relax and let the time go by.

I'm going to try to take my own advice on this. It will be hard, but speeding through life creates some unintended hardships, too!