Skip to main content

The Rush And The Rabbit Hole

The tendency to want to hurry up and move along is natural. But left unchecked it can become an anchor that weighs down an otherwise purposeful journey toward something better.

As in:

  • Adopting a child
  • Saving for a vacation (or, to stretch the time horizon even further, retirement)
  • Seeking a promotion

All of these are worthy objectives. Yet if the brain is allowed to wander, it will begin to go down the rabbit hole and replace joy with anxiety.

In those cases, it asks, "Is it ever going to happen? Will the day finally arrive? Why are the hours dragging by? What good is all of the stuff between now and then?"

Actually, the stuff between now and then is worth a lot. You can choose to savor each moment, painful though some might be. You can learn, ask smart questions and cast a vision that will make others in your circle of influence excited to go along for the ride.

Or you can stew and fret and drive yourself crazy while the second hand on the clock ticks agonizingly by.

If a baby is in your future, doesn't he or she deserve your full attention? Why waste energy worrying when you could be praying, or completing paperwork, or reading a book about parenting?

Why rush when relaxation tempered with progress will get you there faster?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Spark Inside Every Baby

Julie and I enjoyed a delightful evening with longtime friends for the Fourth of July. The day ended with 360 degrees of fireworks around their home in southwest Missouri. There is a visceral excitement surrounding Independence Day. You can feel the explosive "pop" of fireworks as they launch from the ground and again when they burst apart mid-air. Every flash of light, every report -- the booms and the screams -- rekindles memories of my childhood in Colorado. My family would pack up our lawn chairs and head to a nearby golf course to watch fireworks launched from the Boulder County Fairgrounds. More recently, we've joined my parents to watch displays against the backdrop of the Flatirons. Yet for all of the similarities fireworks share, each is unique. There is fresh excitement for the observer because it's impossible to predict what the next display will look like, exactly. If you are a parent, you understand that watching your children mature similarly e...
2 comments
Read more

An Epic Meltdown

Ezra had a major coming apart this evening, probably the product of too many long days and late nights. He hit. He kicked. He yelled over our family Bible story. I reminded him of Ephesians 6:1 where children are instructed to obey their parents. That went over like a lead balloon. After two trips to the bathroom to arm wrestle a toothbrush into his mouth, a potty break and two Kleenexes, the house is finally quiet. Except for the dog, who is snoring. I will save my meltdown for another day, when I have a bigger crowd to feel sorry for me.
Post a Comment
Read more

Toddler Interrogations

I invited Ezra to sit with me this morning as I wrote my blog post. His eyes immediately were drawn to the thumbnail pictures of me on the screen. "There's Nate. And there's Nate," he said. "Daddy," he continued, "is that your glasses and your head and your hair and your chin?" Yes, dear. Yes, it is. Now it's onto the computer battery. "Daddy, what's this called?" A computer battery, I responded. "Oh. A computer battery. Daddy, why is this for your mouse [pointing at the USB]? Is that to make the mouse and that to make the mouse move on the screen [point at the keyboard]?" And so it goes. Little minds connect all of the dots, starting with the right questions. All we have to do is answer them, and keep answering.
Post a Comment
Read more