15 Seconds

I overheard a very interesting conversation yesterday. I was returning a DVD at a video store. Behind the desk, there were two clerks bantering about the computer system. Evidently, every time they used the computer, some promotional pictures came up and they had to wait for them in order to get the customer information they were accessing.

One of the guys said, “Yeah, it takes like 15 seconds to get to the screen you want. It sucks.”

I chuckled to myself. The clerk said that sentence in earnest.

15 seconds was an imposition.

This was just another example of how our culture has issues with hurry and speed. With our computers, we expect things to happen within 2-3 seconds. “What is taking this page so long to load?” “Can’t this file download any faster?”

What kind of a life is it if you can’t wait 15 seconds for something to happen? As I thought about it, it was a reminder for me to slow down inside. I have written about this before in my blog. I guess it just comes up a lot in the culture of Orange County.

I am not trying to point fingers. I fight that inner hurry almost every day in my own life. I don’t like it and I don’t really consider myself to be “Type A.” Yet I struggle with that need to “move forward to that next thing.”

What I really want is to enjoy every moment...to truly be with the person I am with...to listen well...to be...

Got 15 seconds to spare?