Counselor's Corner: Don’t rush through life

Fred Cavaiani

So often we are in a hurry to get to the next moment.  Life sometimes seems like driving in heavy traffic and appears like everyone is in a rush to get to  their destination.  Have you ever had someone tailgate you when you are driving.  It creates tension because you feel if you had to come a quick stop the car behind  you would hit your car quite forcefully.  It also makes me feel like I should be in a rush and go above the speed limit.  Then there comes the time when you might be gently speaking with someone but they want to speak more and keep rushing you so they can speak what is on their mind and they tell you to hurry up and finish what you are speaking.  And, of course, we all know people, which can include ourselves, who keep rushing and worrying about what is going to happen tomorrow. I discover within myself that when I am in a rush to get to the next moment, I will experience tension within myself and find myself worrying about something that I have no control over like expecting someone to do this or say this or expecting myself to change someone or something that I have no control over. 

When I gently embrace and experience the present moment, I feel a sense of comfort and peace and I even feel positive and uplifted.  It is so easy not to pay attention to the present moment.  I learn so much from people when I gently and carefully pay attention to what they are saying.  I experience people in a very positive way because I am gently allowing myself to experience the other person because I am not rushing to the next moment.

Often as I would be in church waiting for the service or mass  to be over, I would keep looking at my watch and, of course, miss the depth of the present moment. I have long ago stopped doing that. 
Once a week I have a meditation group on Zoom.  It is the most relaxing hour of the week because we all have agreed that it will last for one hour.  It is first a guided meditation and then 25 minutes of silence and contemplation. We have been doing this for 26 years. It is a firm foundation of not rushing to the next moment.  I do a fifteen meditation for different groups over the years and then we share ideas and feelings.  The shares are so profound because we have all committed to be silent and reflective for fifteen minutes  and then share what is going on inside of us.

I have become inspired and mesmerized over many years at the insight and profoundness of people after they have been silent for awhile or have committed to being together in silence or meditation for a while.

As I am writing this article, I wanted to check out some problems on my computer or munch on something to eat.  But I knew it was time to write this article. Once I committed to writing this article, my whole system settled down and became quiet.

Each morning, I take an hour for meditation and then I write my own personal reflection of what I was spiritually experiencing on this day.  It puts me in such a relaxed state.  I then text it to a lot of people who find it very helpful on their journey through life.  So, each morning I take an hour to meditate and then another hour to text this reflection to others.  It has become such an integral part of my life and helps me tremendously to go through the day more slowly and gently and become more open to God’s presence and my own feelings.  I have never shared this before but today I just had the inspiration to share this in my article because I listened slowly and carefully to what was going on inside of myself and I am listening to some Gregorian chant in the background.  All of this might seem a bit “crazy” but it is certainly for me a “don’t rush through life moment” so I decided to share this.  I hope you all have a gentle quiet day with little rushing to the next moment.

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Fred Cavaiani is a licensed marriage counselor and psychologist with a private practice in Troy. He is the founder of Marriage Growth Center, a consultant for the Detroit Medical Center, and conducts numerous programs for groups throughout Southeast Michigan.

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