Hazards of over speeding

In untold hurry, a care taker brings a critical patient in emergency of a hospital. The attending doctors taking a little time in assessment is intolerable to him. He flares up every now & then. Reflexively hasty, he intermittently calls for instant action at each step the doctors take. And lo, in a couple of hours, although the patient recovered but the care taker brain suffered severe brain shock, unable to survive. An index case of sorts. Mind, it is real, not a hypothetical event that took place few years back.

A warning at the back of a lorry meant for the continually honking vehicles behind read: “Jinhe jaldi thi, way chale gaye (those in hurry passed away).” Beyond the capability to wait, patience is the attitude we adopt while we wait.

The process takes time: One with patience stays without losing composure. Together with persistence, patience is the essential attribute that gets routine and special tasks accomplished befittingly, without hue & cry. Dazzled by the landmark discoveries, many are unable to see what was cooking over years & years. Behind the writing on the wall, behind each and every great achievement including the successful launch of India’s Chandrayan-3 lay a series of painstaking consecutive stages to be crossed after thoughtful consideration, and not in hurry. An apprentice engineer is enabled to imbibe the mechanical minutiae, and hone the trade skills only by honestly following the instructions of shop floor supervisor that also include patiently fixing, unfixing, refitting or hammering a machine part, and just cleaning it, at times repeatedly at boss’s behest.

Law of the farm: Nothing of value comes to fore in haste. A process takes its time. Ultimately what matters, says Stephen R. Covey, is “the Law of the Farm. You must prepare the ground, plant the seed, cultivate, and water if you expect to reap the harvest [all of which take time].” Recall, most in demand among food connoisseurs the food, particularly dal (pulse) cooked over several hours in slow heat.

In haste, you miss the little beauties en route: Inside a car on expressway hurrying at 120 km or so, you only see other vehicles overtaking, or those left behind and surely miss the fragrance from maturing mustard crops on either side, farmers transplanting rice, ladies’ group singing, the loaded tractor carrying baraatis and much more. Apart from being susceptible to accident, you are deprived of the variegated beauties of Nature scattered along the way because you had no time.

Excellence lingers: Excellence is never an accident; it is the corollary of a vision amalgamated with sincere efforts well executed. “Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished”, said Lao Tzu. Flowers do not bloom haste, so does any masterpiece, taking a long time to come to fore. Many of us, ever in hurry don’t know where to go. Though ever in haste, yet often arrive late. Knowing that it is impossible to trip and fall while walking slowly, a seeker is never in hurry, because, as Paulo Coelho said, “He learns to master his impatience and avoids acting without thinking.”

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The abridged version of this article was published in Free Press Journal dt. 20 July 2024, the under Guiding Light column with the caption, ‘Beware of being in hurry’. Link of the online edition of paper: https://www.freepressjournal.in/spirituality/guiding-light-beware-of-being-in-a-hurry

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