Red Light, Green Light

“Happiness is like a butterfly which, when pursued, is always beyond our grasp, but, if you will sit down quietly, may alight upon you.”  ~Nathaniel Hawthorne

In the last little bit I’ve written a couple of blog posts that have dealt with “action” — the necessity of taking action, however small, in order to reach an objective.  As I awoke this morning, however, I heard a question along the lines of “but is it non-stop action?”  As I pondered this for a bit, I realized that there is a way that “action” needs to be buffeted by “stops”, periods of rest, in order to keep moving with any degree of energy and clarity.  Makes sense, doesn’t it?

Life being what it is, there are some natural “stops” built into our circadian rhythm.  Sleeping is the most obvious “stop.”  Less obvious are moments like sitting down to eat a meal; technically, you’re still doing something and yet, it is an opportunity to put your current “task” aside, and fuel yourself for the next action step.  But what about other stopping moments?  Do they exist?  My sense is that they do — and they arise out of our conscious creation of them.  Actually, if I’m really honest, my realization is that such moments are less about “stops” and more about “pauses” — amber lights, instead of red lights, if we use a traffic analogy.

In Hawthorne’s quote above, he suggests that the pursuit of happiness actually requires us to stop, to pause, if we are ever going to grasp it.  My sense is that this similar pause is required no matter what our objective, because whatever it is we’re pursuing, the experience of happiness is a piece of it.  Whether it’s a personal goal or professional, the achievement of it will bring an element of joy, pride and indeed happiness, and the only way to be prepared for it, aware of it, and savour it is to stop — not just once it’s attained, but also along the way.

Bottom-line:  the “red lights” in life might not be quite as obvious as the green; but the amber lights are there — and paying attention to the invitation to slow down, pause, and even stop — if only for a breath — is vital to our success, whatever that might look like.  What stops will you build into your day?