Speed: rapidity in moving, going, traveling, proceeding, or performing; swiftness; celerity: the speed of light; the speed of sound.
How fast is too fast?
Many times speed, and a lot of it, is a good thing. Car's chasing the checkered flag on Sundays, your provider's internet speed and football players in the SEC all require high rates of speed.
A little side-note; SEC doesn't stand for the Southeast Conference; it stands for Speed Eliminates Competition.
I'm just sayin'...
But good thing for the Big Ten conference and milk shake drinkers alike, there are times when too much speed is a bad thing (have you ever had a brain freeze while eating a Frosty... enough said, thank you). The swinging of a golf club, daughters on prom night and swift moving cars in school zones almost never benefit from moving too fast.
So when a good friend shared with me a conversation she had with an eighty three year "young" women at a funeral yesterday I was reminded once again the importance of avoiding going too fast and spending too much time in the fast lane.
As both women walked into the funeral, both quietly celebrating their chance meeting, the gray haired lady whispered to my friend how lucky she was to have someone as "old" as my friend walk someone as young as her into the building.
My friend is 40 years old.
Her new friend had 83 years worth of humor... and wisdom.
As the two chatted during the viewing words of wisdom flowed from this women's mouth like water moving down stream; with little effort and even fewer obstacles.
She told my friend; "Tell your children to get into the slow lane and work on living a good life." She added that it's easy to get into trouble and difficult to get out of it.
She went on to say that each man and women is afforded only so much time on this earth. She quoted Psalm 90:10 like she had been repeating it every hour; every day for her entire life:
The length of our days is seventy years--or eighty, if we have the
strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly
pass, and we fly away.
It's a blessing to become old.
The King James Version spells it out this way;
The days of our years are threescore years and ten; and if by reason of
strength they be fourscore years, yet is their strength labor and
sorrow; for it is soon cut off, and we fly away.
-Psalm 90:10
She went on to say 70 years is what we get and if you're given more than that it's because of the grace of God.
And during that 70+ years there will be plenty of sorrow and sadness; strife and stress.
Remember, tomorrow is never promised and if you are fortunate to live a long life realize seventy plus years is a short amount of time. Psalm 39:5 states; "You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath."
I think its obvious; life is short, make it count.
And during that 70+ years there will be plenty of sorrow and sadness; strife and stress.
Remember, tomorrow is never promised and if you are fortunate to live a long life realize seventy plus years is a short amount of time. Psalm 39:5 states; "You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand. My entire lifetime is just a moment to you; at best, each of us is but a breath."
I think its obvious; life is short, make it count.
Finally, Ecclesiastes states; "Better to spend your time at funerals than at parties. After all, everyone dies--so the living should take this to heart."
I agree.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not standing in line to go to funeral every day, but I do see the reason why Solomon spoke those words over 2000 years ago. Funerals force us to think; to think about our life; our mortality.
Do yourself a favor...
Joe Bailey in his book; "Slowing Down to the Speed of life" shares with the reader that the key isn't to change your schedule, actions and behaviors; the externals, the key is to change how we think and what we reflect upon, what we place value upon; the internals.
"When we slow down to the speed of life, we tap into a peaceful feeling that permeates our entire being and way of life."
Fast lane; slow lane.
In the fast lane things move too fast, in the slow lane they move fast enough for you to have a conversation with an 83 year "young" women.
A conversation that can change your life, a chance meeting that can encourage you in the direction of working on living the good life... if you slow down and allow it to.
fast lane; slow lane.
Think about it.
How fast are you going?
sbb 11.10.11
793
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