So today, I hit some unexpected traffic on a road I have plied for about one year. The traffic was excruciating; it added almost 30 minutes to my commute. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t smiling. Everything was going exactly as I didn’t want it to go when I looked to my right, and I saw it! My eyes met a beautiful white victorian-styled house. I had never noticed this house before today! I was so enamored by the sight that it took a car honk to snap me back to the reality of my commute.
How many times had I driven past this house and not noticed it? How many times was I too preoccupied with where I was going that I didn’t see this beautiful edifice? How many times did I neglect to appreciate the subtle beauty around me? What else was I missing in my haste to get to my destination?
In a world driven to living at extreme speeds, it is so easy to get so dialed in on what new things we are filling our mouths and egos with that we neglect the subtle greatness lying all around us.
What if you stopped complaining about how things aren’t happening as fast as you would want them and start enjoying the view that a reduced pace affords you? What if you took a break from the neck-breaking speed of ambition and smelled the metaphorical coffee or flowers? What if the momentary traffic was a chance to look around you at what relationships, resources, experiences and education you might have missed thus far? I believe this is something we all have to consider. Speed limits vision. It reduces our brains processing time, so we can look but not see.
Here is my challenge to you: slow down, look around until you find your white Victorian house—believe me, it’s been there all along.
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