Friday, January 08, 2010
The Lost Art of Lingering
As Americans, we sprint at 110 miles per hour and then when we do stop, we pause for mere moments and crank it back into fifth gear within three seconds flat. We don't know how to linger. Instead of assuming that it's a good thing to lazily stroll the aisles at the grocery store, we load the cart up as if we were on a reality show about finding the best deals the fastest. My advice? Let's linger a bit.
No matter what you're doing, it's worth it to slow down. Why not linger in front of the mirror in the morning? Take a moment or two to stare at your beautiful eyes and reflect on your own personal strengths. Afterward, you should definitely steal a few sips of your freshly brewed coffee before sprinting out the door. Why not break out of the rat-race a bit during the school drop-off as well? Even if you have a loaded schedule, you could pause to chat with a fellow parent about the beautiful weather or about the upcoming Valentine's party. While at work, even though the deadline is all but painting out a line of death on your desk, you could stop to touch base with a coworker while refilling your coffee or tea. Saying "Hello" or asking how someone's new year is starting out goes a long way.
While at Sprout's recently, I enjoyed a relaxing visit by myself. I chatted with four store associates. I checked out the plethora of apple varieties and even discovered a new bean: the mung bean. I didn't even know it existed, but if you're Asian or Indian, you're probably quite familiar with it. Before checking out, I sampled a 2 oz cup of coffee and perused the bulk item bins just for fun. I happened to pick up a half pound of yogurt chip trail mix because it was on sale and I love all the tasty dried fruit as well. In short, I lingered. It was like driving on the Pacific Coast Highway instead of the 15 or the 91 freeways.
Why is it that we don't take time to chill out more often? Sometimes, it seems sacrilegious to slow down. Even taking that extra five minutes in the shower after you've already soaped and scrubbed feels selfish. You think, "But, I have so many other things that I could be doing." We need to avoid the busy traps that are set all around us. The laptop glares at you while the cell phone begs to write out one more text. And the fax machine always seems to have something sitting in its tray. Inevitably, we get the notion that more is always better. We inaccurately assume that a fuller calendar is a better one, but it's simply not true.
So, take a little sigh and give yourself permission to lower the RPMs. You don't have to sprint every single moment because the race we're in is more like a marathon. You don't want to burn out and get thrown off the track. The truth is that less calls, less emails, less texts, and less errands actually equate to less stress. You might not end up with the paprika spice you were going to use for your husband's pasta dish because you forgot to read his text message, but then again, pancakes and eggs were sounding kind of tasty anyways.
Share your thoughts about lingering. We'd love to hear from you. Also, does anyone have a good recipe for mung beans? I may let them linger by soaking them for a week until they sprout and then saute them in a stir-fry, but I'm just not sure yet. Cheers to life and a toast to enjoying its peaceful moments!
No matter what you're doing, it's worth it to slow down. Why not linger in front of the mirror in the morning? Take a moment or two to stare at your beautiful eyes and reflect on your own personal strengths. Afterward, you should definitely steal a few sips of your freshly brewed coffee before sprinting out the door. Why not break out of the rat-race a bit during the school drop-off as well? Even if you have a loaded schedule, you could pause to chat with a fellow parent about the beautiful weather or about the upcoming Valentine's party. While at work, even though the deadline is all but painting out a line of death on your desk, you could stop to touch base with a coworker while refilling your coffee or tea. Saying "Hello" or asking how someone's new year is starting out goes a long way.
While at Sprout's recently, I enjoyed a relaxing visit by myself. I chatted with four store associates. I checked out the plethora of apple varieties and even discovered a new bean: the mung bean. I didn't even know it existed, but if you're Asian or Indian, you're probably quite familiar with it. Before checking out, I sampled a 2 oz cup of coffee and perused the bulk item bins just for fun. I happened to pick up a half pound of yogurt chip trail mix because it was on sale and I love all the tasty dried fruit as well. In short, I lingered. It was like driving on the Pacific Coast Highway instead of the 15 or the 91 freeways.
Why is it that we don't take time to chill out more often? Sometimes, it seems sacrilegious to slow down. Even taking that extra five minutes in the shower after you've already soaped and scrubbed feels selfish. You think, "But, I have so many other things that I could be doing." We need to avoid the busy traps that are set all around us. The laptop glares at you while the cell phone begs to write out one more text. And the fax machine always seems to have something sitting in its tray. Inevitably, we get the notion that more is always better. We inaccurately assume that a fuller calendar is a better one, but it's simply not true.
So, take a little sigh and give yourself permission to lower the RPMs. You don't have to sprint every single moment because the race we're in is more like a marathon. You don't want to burn out and get thrown off the track. The truth is that less calls, less emails, less texts, and less errands actually equate to less stress. You might not end up with the paprika spice you were going to use for your husband's pasta dish because you forgot to read his text message, but then again, pancakes and eggs were sounding kind of tasty anyways.
Share your thoughts about lingering. We'd love to hear from you. Also, does anyone have a good recipe for mung beans? I may let them linger by soaking them for a week until they sprout and then saute them in a stir-fry, but I'm just not sure yet. Cheers to life and a toast to enjoying its peaceful moments!
Labels: cooking, family, lingering, sprinting
