TOW: Life in the Fast Lane

Has anyone else recently felt like things are moving really fast in their lives? I kind of feel like a lot of people recently, in my life, have made a lot of big decisions that effect them positively, things that move them 'a step up in life.' What is interesting, however, is how fast things seem to be changing. Feel like there's not enough time to smell the roses? Do you even remember what roses look like? Then you are probably living life in the fast lane, so to speak.

We often get told that moving fast is a bad thing...that we should take time to appreciate our surroundings, and to enjoy each moment of each day. Never rush, always appreciate everything that is in your life, etc. Like the moment when you wake up and realize you're running late. Wake-up, stretch, smile, and enjoy your day.

Right.

I find this platitude flies in the face of our common sense. I always want something to be right now instead of later, and I'm willing to put aside appreciating things for a little while until I get what I want. I suppose this is a kind of utilitarianism, where we would say, "I am putting aside some smaller pleasures, for some higher pleasures." (By the way, utilitarianism is usually a bad idea, so don't make it your ethical system of choice if you can help it, k?) But in general, we often feel justified living at this faster pace because we feel that we fit and cram so much more into our lives.

Sometimes relationships, events, and just life moves faster than can be appreciated. Usually, we will have a period, later in our lives, where we can appreciate those changes. But the joys of living out our lives is not always in appreciating what we have, but striving for something further.

And that's a pretty fast way of saying live your life to the fullest.