Slowing Down

Living life in the fast lane is never easy.

I've been rushing all my life. I rush to catch buses and trains, I speed walk to reach places, I hasten my pace of working to meet deadlines. I am always conscious of lost time and every minute counts in my life. I am breathless most of my time, and my heartbeat is faster than usual.

I am now learning to slow down. I miss the bus and train if I have to, I walk slowly and careful, I work the best I can do, but I won't rush to finish my work even if there is a deadline. I am learning to be less conscious of the limited time I have, and I am catching my breath, slowing my hearbeat to normal pace.

Why? Because when I rush up the stairs to catch the train or run after a bus, I heat up and I can't relax, my blood shoot up. I don't walk speedily as before, because on many occasions I have fallen and injure myself especially on wet floor. Just recently, I rushed and I rushed to meet the deadlines my supervisors gave me, but the materials I need never come on time, and at last minute I will always have to stay staggering number of hours overtime. When I miss the deadline, of which is no fault of mine, my supervisors, the project managers themselves, did not bother because the deadlines they set are for driving people, by which they themseleves fail to meet, nor see the urgency, so why should I bother?

The result of all this is a regular reading of 150/90 blood pressure for the past six months, and I've been advised to start taking anti high blood pressure medication to bring it down. I am constantly faced with dizziness to which even Stemitil has now lost its effect on me and I am breathless easily.

There is no point in rushing to meet the targets set by men, for their expectations have no end. If our health is at risks because of them, life is not worth living the way it is. Enjoy life while you can, find rest and relaxation, laughter and joy, for by God we have been created, and for His purpose we have been made. Take time and do the things we have always wanted to do, but don't get to find time to do. Live life abundantly (John 10:9-10).

End of Life

After coming back from my holidays, I found out that my company has transferred me to another department to work on projects, something which I have always hated. I have worked for years on projects previously, and it is the very thing that I have hoped to get away from.
Working on project basis means I have to account for every minute I worked for in the office, monitored by a coordinator, with frequent reports on hours spent on customer, task, and others. My new boss has spelled out that a meeting per week is required for the department to report status, and apart from the multitude of work required, to write reports weekly, one at departmental level and the other for 'personal' tasks monitoring, both which must be submitted to the boss.

Beginning next week, my new school term and semester also begins, and this means I have to juggle again, with new duties at work, which I foresee requires lots of overtime, because, as all projects entail, deadlines are of the essence.

Starting from two days ago, life is no longer fun, and maybe, I'll have to move on again, if my health is jeopardised.

Inspiration vs Hard Work

We usually think more creatively when we are relaxed. Unfortunately, many of us think at the worst of times and often under pressure, when we are forced to make decisions.

As a writer, I often have to muse and think over the subject before I write, and I write best when I am relaxed. I get inspired easily when walking through the woods or while taking long nature walks. Unfortunately, such luxury are seldom available when I am on an assignment, which often has short deadline, so I do the next best thing, similar to what everyone else do when they are pressured - research and compile, then write.

Research and compilation is common in most environments, and if you know the process of problem solving, you will probably know what I mean. In a corporate environment, problem solving means identifying, analysing, implementing, and evaluating. This is not dissimilar in any other environments.

First, research and gather as much information on the subject as possible. Next, sort out the useable from the unusable then select what goes into the story. Finally write in one's own words the story based on all the information gathered, re-reading it to edit and modify where necessary.

A story written based on hard work is seldom satisfactory to the author, but at least it gets the work done. In a perfect world, the author has a lot of time to think, and if one gets a chance to write a novel or a book, some inspiration will definitely be essential. However, if writing is a daily or periodical routine that makes up a high percentage of press news and factual content then option two will be more appropriate in solving the immediate problem.

Therefore, when writing becomes a pressure instead of pleasure, it is time to retreat and rediscover inspiration within nature.