Stay In The Moment

Impatience can get the best of us all.

It could be as simple as having to wait in traffic on your way home from work, eager to see your loved ones. Or as implicative as waiting for change to sweep its way through the world, impatience with an undertone of ‘right’ on its side.

Or hey, it might just be as simple as having to wait in line for your morning coffee, foot stamping with caffeine deprivation emboldened by a deep hate for the person in front of you that, despite having been in line for 5 minutes, DOESN’T KNOW WHAT THEY WANT YET!?! (We’ve all been there and I say to you now dear reader, your impatience can easily be forgiven on this one.)

Whatever the cause our impatience is often characterized by a singular focus, a narrowing of the lens with which we see the world. It is a catalyst for action often luring us into a “strike while the iron is hot” mentality. And although this can set the waves of change in motion it also lacks the one thing that can give us the clarity we need to point them in the right direction; time. Time to think before we speak or act. Time to criticize our initial thoughts for their lack of foresight. Time to take a breath so that we don’t act rashly. Time to see the forest for the trees.

By definition our impatience takes us away from this moment and drives our minds into the future. It lives in a utopia of clear roads and happy people never having to wait in line again. A world where gratification is immediate so that we never have to exhibit restraint. One where the actor never has the opportunity to be grateful for what is.

“Sleep on it”, “Mull it over”. “Take a breath”. Phrases you might not hear much in a trigger happy world, addicted to social media induced dopamine hits and an inability to sit still. But powerful ideas to consider non the less, and perhaps now more than ever. To an impatient actor the idea of “taking a breath” is patronizing as it implies that they may not have all their faculties about them. When in reality, deep relaxed breathing is a parasympathetic driver that has a powerful effect on the state of your mind. One where you come to realize that, in an impatient state you are aligned with the ever thinking brain and are incapable of awareness. Breathing is our bodies natural ability to down regulate and experience a sense of calm. An evolutionary bridge between nerves and clarity.

This moment, here and now is all we’ll ever have. Despite what you might be affected by from your past and what you might want for your future. It’s all you ever get. So then it stands to reason that we give it the respect it deserves by limiting the voice of the rash actor that lives inside us all. The one that has his finger on the pulse of the world and will reward you for jumping to conclusions. And instead, learn to think for ourselves, be grateful for what we have, and demonstrate a little more patience, compassion, and understanding before we do something we might regret down the road.