We spend most of our time in a state of perpetual hurry. If we pay close attention, it appears in nearly every facet of our life: working, exercising, cooking, eating, and even waking. Our minds, often without us noticing, are a scrambled mess of thought and worry when left to run without our conscious awareness.
With the obsessive neuroticism of a prison escapee, we are always on the lookout for what could arise in the future and what from the past might implicate our future actions. The main reason this happens is because we relinquish control and awareness of our mind to the pursuit of trivial, vain matters. When we reflect on our past, we can see that most of our worries held little to no weight in the grand scheme of our lives, and the cost of those precise worries was the free and fulfilling joy of a simple awareness of being alive.
Whether speeding along to work or rushing through a meal, we miss the joy of the simplest moments because we have tricked ourselves into believing that happiness lies in the future, if only we will prepare ourselves enough and change the external conditions around us.
The truth is, happiness consists in awareness—in choosing to slow down, be present to whatever task is at hand, and doing it for the sake of doing it. Increasing our task efficiency is a waste of life if not undertaken with an awareness of this exact formula for happiness.
So, in living out today, take the time to slow down, feel your breath leave and enter your body, and feel the warm appreciation that comes with another day to simply be alive.