How to enjoy the ride, even when you want to reach the finish.

It’s easy for me to get ahead of myself.  Sometimes I am so clear on where it is that I am going, or what it is that I want, that I don’t always allow for the proper time, meaning the natural course of things, to happen.  I am like the race car driver who goes 0-60 in seconds flat.  But more than that, or perhaps worse that that, when I am in this state- I think only of the finish line.

Basically, I like to have what I want immediately.  This has actually been a common theme of my life.  Even, or especially when I was young I did not  allow time for things to run their most natural course.  Once I could find the possibility in my mind, I expected to be there.  And it’s true many things do come to me like that.  However there are always things that take time.   

“Isn’t it all about the journey?” a friend reminded me the other day, “I’ve heard that mentioned a time or two,” he added wryly.  The reality is, things take time.  Whatever you are manifesting needs to grow.  And sometimes it is the most precious things that require the most time.  

To help myself get over the frustration that I sometimes feel when things don’t happen NOW, or yesterday, as I sometimes wish they would, I play a little game with my mind to help it get back into the space of enjoying the journey.  

I pretend that I am on vacation.

Remember how it feels to be on vacation.  When you wake up, you don’t think to yourself, “Oh I’ve got to get in the shower, and start the coffee, and get to work.”  And you certainly don’t think to yourself, “Oh, I’ve got to get this rest and relaxation over with so I can get back to the grind!”  The finish line, or the end of the vacation, is not in sight.  Instead, you move as though there is plenty of time for everything, as though this moment were truly all that mattered.

The last time I was on vacation in Hawaii I remember waking up, lying in bed and relishing the sea breeze dancing on my skin.  When I got out of bed to head toward my morning tea, just the feeling of my bare feet on the carpet felt exquisite.  Every little moment was so ripe and full– I wanted for nothing.    

When you are on vacation, you get out of your pajamas when you feel like it.  You snorkel when you have the urge.  You eat when it is time– and you don’t think about the end.  You are actually present for the deliciousness of every moment instead of trying to race to the finish line.  

There is such an exquisite beauty in waiting for the natural urge of each action to arise before doing.  It doesn’t require a beach and some flip flops for you to make it happen.  It takes only a simple shift in attitude.  Decide you are on vacation.  Pay attention to and act on your own natural urges and impulses.  Act as though there is time enough for everything, and you will really and truly feel that it is the ride that brings the joy, not the finish.

Aimée is an intuitive, writer, and the founder of Spreading Blessings Media.  This post and the others are part of her regular blessings and inspiration, available for free in your inbox.  To find out more about her work go to www.spreadingblessings.com or click here to sign up for regular blessings and inspiration in your inbox.