What’s Our Hurry, Indeed?

Anyone who knows me knows I’m freakin’ obsessed with vintage Hollywood - so much so that I even have a blog devoted entirely to Hollywood, Yesterday.  There are few things I love more than piling up on the couch and watching a great old movie or reruns of some of my favorite old series (Andy Griffith, I Love Lucy, The Flintsones, The Beverly Hillbillies…).

Do you remember the episode of Andy Griffith where the travelling preacher gives a sermon with the catch phrase, “What’s Your HURRY?“  I thought about that one last night when I found myself zipping around the kitchen like I had someplace I HAD to be.  I was throwing mixing bowls in the cabinet, cat food at my cats, green tea into my glass… like I was on The Amazing Race and trying to complete my task before anyone else.  I was nothing but a fuzzy pink blur in my housecoat and houseshoes.

At some point, I stopped my pink self long enough to ask, “It’s 9:50 at night, what’s the rush?” I was dumbfounded, which fortunately slowed me down.

I put my elbows on the counter and mulled it over with one of my cats (the other was too busy eating and couldn’t be bothered with such things).  Alexa and I decided that I’ve conditioned myself lately to go too fast, and possibly even too much.  At some point, when I wasn’t looking, someone inserted a new video card into me and my speed is now second to none. 

The problem is, when you’re zipping and rushing around, not very much good comes from it.  For one thing, that’s pretty much when all accidents happen.  You drop things, cut yourself on your very sharp, new Wolfgang Puck knives (4 times in one month), get speeding tickets, etc.

It’s also hard to fully live in and enjoy the moment if you’re at full steam.  It’d be like trying to sight see in a jet.  A hellicopter provides a much better view!

Do you ever find yourself in the middle of a needless rush?  If you’re like me, it’s probably something new to you.  I’ve only noticed myself recently switching gears, and I can’t quite figure out if it’s because I have a lot more to do or if it’s the reason I have a lot more to do.  Whatever the case, I think we should all MAKE ourselves slow down a little bit.  The rushing to and fro just isn’t healthy for the body or the mind. 

I’ve worked out a little trick- whenever I see the color red, I’m going to “check” myself.  I’ll see if I’m doing my best Speedy Gonzalez or if I actually have both feet on the floor.  I remember this little trick from years ago - one of my daughters had a habit of biting her nails.  She wasn’t nervous or bored, she just enjoyed the whole process of chewing them off.  I told her that whenever she saw the color red to “check” herself to see if she was in the process of abusing her poor nails.  The routine, in itself, didn’t cure the nail biting.  But it pointed out to her just how often she did, in fact, bite her nails.   After a few weeks of “stopping at the red,” she was able to completely break the habit.

If you suspect that you’ve begun to move an accelerated speed, too, I hope you’ll join me in a good old fashioned cooling of the heels.  After all, it is true: life is a marathon, not a sprint.  Let’s just enjoy it every step of the way!