Ever go about your day looking for things only to find them right in front of you? Ever stare at something for too long of a time and then realize you saw something you never saw before? Or maybe that drive you take every morning revealed something ‘new’. Many times there are things hiding in plain sight all around us. Often this is because we are in a hurry.
Time is a valuable and limited commodity in American culture. Because of this we are often rushed and hurried. We hurry to get ready in the morning; scarfing down some semblance of breakfast while getting our shoes on and searching for our things. We hurry to get to work, or school, or to our appointment. We hurry to the next thing and the next thing.
If we don’t pay attention, this hurry can seem like a good thing, feeling like we must rush because of the important things in our life. Yet if living a life of hurry was a good thing, scripture would encourage and condone it. Yet instead it tells us to do the opposite. We are told to be still and trust God (Psalm 46:10), we are told to not be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6), we are told to remember that there is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1). Why? Because hurry is the great enemy of our days. Hurry causes us to make mistakes. Hurry causes us to miss things. Hurry causes us to be distracted. Hurry causes stress. Hurry causes frustration. Hurry damages relationships and builds bitterness.
And hurry would not have allowed this photo to be taken. Driving down highway 19 on the Big Island of Hawaii I spotted this road out of the corner of my eye as I passed. Taking a few minutes to turn around and drive into the forest resulted in this wonderful experience. If hurry would have won that day, I wouldn’t have ever known this was here, and seen this different side of Hawaii
So take a moment and slow down today. Remember that hurry doesn’t actually bring about anything good in the long term.
Photo Info⠀
1/20s | f/6.3 | ISO 640 | 16mm | Canon 5D Mark IV | 16-35mm f/4L IS
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