Nature Does Not Hurry

I'm big on productivity.  The more I get done in a day, the more I feel like a rock star.  Sure, there are far more important things in life than crossing off items on the never-ending to-do list, but getting through my daily list is always a high priority. 

Yesterday, I was fully focused on meeting a deadline I had set for a project.  At 5pm, I was close to finishing, but still much further behind than I wanted to be at that hour.  I thought, "Why can't I get through this faster?  I need this done already."  Recognizing my growing impatience with finishing the project, I realized I needed to step away from it for a moment to relax, take a breath and regain my joy for what I was doing. 
 
So I headed to the kitchen for a break and a delicious cup of peppermint tea.  As the water began to boil, I pulled out a tea bag and took notice of the quote hanging from the string.  It was a quote from Lao Tzu that read: "Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."  I smiled. So very timely and exactly what I needed. 

I sat and quietly enjoyed my tea, thinking about the truth of those wise words.  Who am I to rush anything?  Everything has its own divine timing; and over that I have no control.  We are simply here to play our parts, doing what we can when we can to the best of our ability.  Knowing this, we can live at greater ease despite the myriad demands of our lives.

After my tea and lesson from Lao Tzu, I went back to work with a more relaxed and clearer mind.  Six hours later, I met my deadline - calmly, peacefully and without hurry just as nature intended it.