Tuesday, June 10, 2014

the rush hour of life

I heard an expression the other day: "We are in the rush hour of life right now." It refers to people in mid-life who are busy raising the next generation, working their asses off at whatever job they're doing, making big money decisions around buying a house or how to invest retirement money, and caught in a metaphorical traffic jam with everyone else doing the same thing.  Inching forward, honking their horn, anxious to get where they are going.

I feel slightly outside of this rush hour because I can avoid the literal rush hour-- my studio is a 30-second walk from my front door-- and I've managed to dodge a lot of adult responsibilities that other people take on, like mortgages and kids. But I still feel a lot of pressure to accomplish and to get things done, and it makes me anxious.

I'm going through an anxious period right now. I have a lot of ideas for work, things I want to make, and I want to corral all of these ideas into a nice long list titled "Things to Make." But the ideas will not be organized in this fashion. Every time I try to sit and make a written list or even draw pictures, I get so bored I forget what I'm doing. And boredom is my kryptonite, so it seems pretty useless to try and control the process in this way. Something in me wants to stop thinking, and start making.

But I feel rushed. I just want to be making stuff in the studio all the time to quell this feeling of rush and anxiety. The late spring light makes it easy to work later and later and I even found myself trying to get into the studio to work over the weekend, which I know is a habit that leads to workaholism, which leads to burnout. I keep asking myself, what is the rush? What is the point of rushing anyway? What is the good in rushing through anything, which is ultimately rushing right toward the end of our lives and death?

Being rushed is mindless. It's answering the call to our most ego-driven self which wants to accomplish and get ahead, literally and figuratively. Ask yourself right now: are you being a thoughtful person when you are trying to rush? Are you truly engaged in the flow of life around you or are you trying to frantically swim faster than the current is carrying you?

Having the presence of mind to not rush is the opposite, it's mindful. It's taking the time to question our deadlines, our timelines, and what we are truly trying to accomplish. I'm usually running a few minutes late whenever I go anywhere, and as is my habit, I rush to get to my destination. But I've stopped speeding through yellow lights because I want to remind myself to give every task the time it needs and deserves. Trying to shave off 40 seconds is crazy.

I have a hard time believing in any kind of god I've been told about. But I've always felt a presence of a creative force in my life, which can feel like the highest, most enlightened version of myself, compassionate yet completely detached from the things which drive me. Whenever I start displaying symptoms of rushing-- heart rate elevated, chest and face tightening, snappishness-- I ask this presence for help.  The same thought comes beck to me every time I ask, "You are right where you are," which reminds me that yes, I am where I am and also, right in where I am. I'm right where I'm supposed to be, even if my ego thinks differently.

11 comments:

  1. You grow in your career, you raise your kid and then you come to the big traffic jam,you have aging parents. We just hit that road block with my husbands parents and now I find there is zero time for art while I help take care of his mother. This one came at us out of nowhere a couple of weeks ago and I was not prepared for the screeching halt that my life took. I am ever more mindful and grateful for the slower pace that has come with getting older and I am embracing it finally. I was always the one going balls out with whatever I did, not anymore....

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    1. The aging parents thing is such a huge issue, the time and stress that goes into caregiving cannot be overstated. I hope you can get some support and help from other family members Tracey!

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  2. Beautifully stated, Whitney. Looking back at my life from age 63 mostly I remember a chronic blur of what, even then, I considered to be overkill busyness. It was only after a automobile accident following my mother's death at age 92 that rendered me unable to walk without crutches for 6 months that forced me to STOP and learn to meditate. I want my art to reflect beauty, joy and humor and I can't do that crazed.
    I totally understand your frustration with wanting to get at the new stuff. Me too. Trying to acquire the social media skills to help get the old into the world his a tough slog, but worth it. As my ceramics teacher, Bob Johnson, put it "It's all part of your education." Sigh. Susan

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  3. I think some of the problem is the staggering number of dollars it takes to live what most of us would consider a middle class lifestyle. This makes is so hard to make a job change or god forbid take some time off to determine a new direction in life. Throw in a mortgage and a few debt payments and you find yourself in the fast lane with no exit in sight.

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    1. There's no doubt that the middle class is being squeezed while the cost of living has gone up. Making big (or small) changes is never easy, even if you have money in the bank, so I think it's important to take full responsibility for the choices we make in life that may limit us in the future. But as long as we are alive, it's never too late to change.

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  4. Yes! I must constantly remind myself to slow down. It's not a productive speed- it's like a tornado that rushes through and doesn't accomplish much more than throwing stuff around and breaking things.
    Society imposes the notion of 'high-speed' on practically everything we do though, so it's easy to get caught up in the rigamarole of immediacy.
    I love your description of the creative force in your life. That's almost exactly how I feel about it- and maybe I need to start talking to that force more!

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    1. Yes, try it! It's way smarter than I am!

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  5. The rush hour of life! What an awful expression! I have another expression that by dumb luck I stumbled into years ago "Be Here Now" from the book Be Here Now by Ram Dass. After years of living with this thought I still have to constantly remind my self to slow down and be in the moment.
    After deciding to be a full time studio potter I realized I could have time or I could have money. I have never regretted choosing "time". Not that time doesn't get away from me often.I just try to take a breath and start over.
    One last thought.In a meditation class I learned a new way to think about tasks that constantly need attention. When I find myself saying "I have to do this " just re phrase it to "I get to do this". It becomes a gratitude attitude.

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    1. Yes, I am amazed at how the way we talk to ourselves and the words we use can totally change out attitude. I'm reading Ellen Langer right now, she is the "mother of mindfulness" and has been scientifically researching how our attitude and language affects the way we go through life-- even the way we age!-- since the 70's. I also catch myself when I find I have a bad attitude about something and try to re-frame it to improve my outlook... it helps a lot!

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  6. Yes, what great insights! :) I'm also in the midst of getting rid of the rush and pressure I put myself under.

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  7. I can relate to this and the baby post so well right now, especially since I just turned 40! I wasn't thinking about investments or retirement or white picket fences in my 20's and 30's. Now it's like I'm in a huge rush to figure it all out. Must remind myself not to swim faster than the current :-)

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