I was late for my flight, and worried that I might have to sort through plan B for making it from Portland to Detroit. Complicating matters was the fact that I had a rental car to return.
As I approached the unfamiliar airport I quickly scanned for signs that would point me toward the return of my rental car. It was a quick left hand exit and then a ramp to the second floor of the airport garage. My heart raced as my mind charted a path
through the check-in process. The variables ahead of me made the certainty of my outcome questionable. Kiosks working? Security lines? Crowds? And so much more.
I quickly caught the “Return Lane” for Budget Rental and whipped my car into a space behind the last car in line. To add to my growing optimism I saw a man with a handheld device approaching the car.
By this point I was out of the vehicle and on my way to retrieve my cases from the trunk. “Sir,” the attendant’s voice broke my concentration, “Sir, this isn’t our car.
In the few seconds that followed I was informed… actually reminded, that the car that I was returning had been rented from Dollar and not from Budget.
This was a self-inflicted wound. I had nobody to blame, no phone number to call, no company to write, no clerk to persuade… this was on me, and me alone.
The minutes were precious and I had just exchanged them carelessly. In fact, I threw away ten of them before I got everything back to its rightful place…
Wasn’t it just last week that I wrote about the “courage to go slow?” Weren’t those my fingers that typed those words?
So I write today from detention… yes, I have much to learn about moving at the “pace of wisdom.”
So again… I confess… life, most typically, is a rush. From one activity, from one airport, from one appointment, from one assignment, from one crisis, from one conversation… to the next.
And somewhere in all of this, while I’m still in the fast lane, I drive right past thoughtfulness and wisdom… only to need it desperately a few minutes later.
I’m learning. Slowly… but I’m learning.
Take time, take time today… to move slowly enough to put things back in the right place.
From the remedial side of the classroom, I join you in this journey.
{ 0 comments… add one now }