The long way
We live in pretty wild times when it comes to the abilities and facilities we have with modern advancements and conveniences, and it seems to accelerate with each passing moment.
Things that used to be laborious or tedious or onerous to do have become accomplishable with the click of a button (or a simple voice command). Common discomforts have gone by the wayside.
I’m not one to eschew things that make my life easier or more convenient, but I have been finding myself recently going in the opposite direction on occasion in order to slow down and have a different (and certainly less efficient) experience.
I had lunch with a friend last week and it would normally be about a 7-minute drive (plus a little time to find parking). Instead, I looked up what the public transportation option would be. It was a 10-minute walk from my house to the bus stop, and then a 20-minute ride that would drop me almost directly outside my destination.
I went for it.
I love walking through my neighborhood. The blossoms are out, the air is infused with the smell of jasmine and orange blossoms, and the sun is starting to really shine. Along the way, I passed a garden with several different kinds of roses, and when you smell them one after another, you realize that different types of roses smell surprisingly different from one another! You can’t smell roses from the car.
On the bus ride, I noticed so many little restaurants and shops I’ve never seen and got to people-watch all the folks we passed on the street. Usually, I’d just be checking people out long enough to make sure they weren’t about to step into the street in front of my car.
Also, getting to bypass the search for parking was a reward in and of itself.
There is no debate whatsoever that the method I chose was easily four times longer than other options…but the experience of the afternoon totally changed the rest of the day for me. I noticed more things, I had new ideas by the time I got home (and the focus to sit down and put them on paper), and new, refreshed energy from being outside.
Sometimes, the long way is still the best way, even when there is a shortcut…
