By Edward Deeb, Editor-in-Chief
November 1, 2007
We live in a fast-paced society. Most people are in a hurry to get somewhere before the other guy. In many cases it’s a me-first mentality and the heck with the other person. How long will this go on? Where is our sensitivity or courtesy for others?
There are many reasons for the speed to nowhere: computers, television, Internet, cell phones, iPod, BlackBerry, e-mails, movies and game consoles to name just a few.
If you are speeding there are many things you will miss en route to your destination. If you slow down a little, you will have time to “Stop and Smell the Roses,” as Mac Davis says in his song. Or as singer Kenny Chesney says, “Don’t Blink.” He says the secret of life is don’t blink. Before you know it you’re 6 years old. Take a nap and you’re 25 when you awaken. “Trust me friend, a hundred years goes faster than you think. So don’t blink.”
Things you can do today: help a fellow employee; go over and say hello to a neighbor you haven’t seen for a long time; visit a hospital and bring some cheer; go shopping for an older person who is unable to or does not have a car; read a story to a child; buy a bouquet of flowers for your spouse; give a helping hand to your favorite charity; give your son or daughter a hug. The list goes on and on.
Fast or slow. Which road should you take? The one with the path, or the one with no path? “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I/I took the one less traveled by,/and that has made all the difference.” So wrote Robert Frost in “The Road Not Taken.”
The problem today is that we are all working hard and trying to get somewhere, anywhere, fast. Is it worth it? As Davis says in the lyrics of his song: “You’ve got to count your many blessings everyday. There’s a whole lot more to life than work and worry.”
So stop and smell the roses.
