{"id":1565,"date":"2018-10-09T18:29:08","date_gmt":"2018-10-09T18:29:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/?p=1565"},"modified":"2018-10-09T18:32:31","modified_gmt":"2018-10-09T18:32:31","slug":"have-you-caught-the-hurry-sickness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.scu.edu\/writeherewritenow\/2018\/10\/09\/have-you-caught-the-hurry-sickness\/","title":{"rendered":"Have you caught the “hurry sickness”?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Meditation teacher Eknath Easwaran called it \u201cthe hurry sickness.\u201d And it\u2019s become an epidemic, as Americans cram more and more in our days, driven by FOMO, the \u201cfear of missing out.\u201d We fill up our schedules, try to do one more thing before leaving the house, then rush out the door and race down the road, late for work or our next appointment.<\/p>\n

Constantly rushing undermines our health with chronic stress. Our bodies tense up, preparing for fight or flight, producing tight, sore muscles and back pain. Our concentration narrows as our bodies churn out adrenaline and corticosteroids, shutting down our digestive and immune systems as well as our sense of compassion. And all too often, our chronic rushing makes us ignore the people around us.<\/p>\n

Sometimes this rushing can be fatal. At a street corner three blocks from my house I saw piles of flowers and hand-written notes, a memorial to one of our neighbors. The man had recently lost his wife and was raising his young daughter. He was standing on the sidewalk beside his bike, waiting for the light to change when an impatient driver in an SUV came racing down the street, passed a line of cars on the right, and jumped the curb, careening onto the sidewalk, killing our neighbor and leaving his little girl all alone.<\/p>\n

What about you? Have you been caught up in \u201cthe hurry sickness\u201d? If so, for your own good and the good of those around you, take a moment now to rediscover that place of peace deep within you.<\/p>\n