Living in a big city, with its frantic pace and activity that (almost) never lets you slow down, means you don’t have time to stand still ⏰. Waiting a few minutes longer than necessary for the bus 🚌, hitting a series of red lights 🚦, having to queue at the supermarket checkout 🛒… these moments are seen as pointless “wastes of time”, precious seconds that could have been spent doing something else 😡.
Yet sometimes, these very “time wasters” are precious, underrated gifts. Anything that interrupts our breakneck routine, forcing us to pause in a “here and now” that needs to be filled with new meaning, often proves to have a positive impact on our existence.
Having to wait longer than expected at the dentist’s or the hair salon is an excuse to enjoy a chat with the person next to you or to continue reading that book 📚 you keep putting off; a traffic jam 🚗 on the way to the office can be a reason to look up and notice the beauty of the urban landscape you pass every day without much thought, or to listen to a song on the radio that brings back happy memories. And - why not? - rush hour at your local supermarket can be an opportunity to meet someone interesting (perhaps even your soulmate?!😍).
Yes, in the end, this is how we truly experience life, in the unscheduled intervals between one race and the next. And it’s up to us to keep that little door in our soul open to appreciate their value.
So, let’s allow fate to take the reins: if life asks us to slow down or stop, there’s always a reason!
An example? By reading this newsletter, you’ve just given a different meaning to two whole minutes in which you probably could have done something mindlessly that you wouldn’t even remember later.
So, thank you... to you and to serendipitous delays!
Until next time,