Sunday, March 20, 2011

The Zen of UHaul Towing

It is no secret to anyone who knows me that patience is not one of my virtues.  I seem to always be rushing from one thing to the next, trying to accomplish a dozen things at one time, and faster, better or more efficiently than anyone else.

Well, yesterday I met my match in the form of a fully-loaded UHaul trailer.  The last few months have taken a lot out of me also, with deciding to move to Denver, look for a new job and enroll in grad school.  (More on that later)  However, when it came around to loading the trailer and moving my belongings from Boulder to Denver, I was forced to slow down and reflect.  Literally, because my Jeep could not go above 55 mph without revving the engine too high, but also metaphorically because I am so worn out, and it is mostly because of my own doing.  As I chugged along in the far right lane of I-25, going between 45-55 mph, with cars racing by me at highway speeds, I wondered where they were in such a hurry to go.  As we go speeding (literally and otherwise) through life, what are we missing?  For me, this journey was a chance to slow down and think about where I was going.  Why I am moving to Denver, and what is going to be different here.  In Boulder, I got sucked into work, giving up lots of my free time to accomplish things that probably could have waited.  I didn't spend as much time with friends because I was a perfectionist and trying to be the biggest workaholic in the office.

I chose to move back to Denver for a number of reasons, but chiefly, to rejoin the close community of friends that I have here.  Because life is not all about work, it is about community and relationships.  And I have started off my life in Denver with that in mind.  I was blessed yesterday to have 12 friends help me move in (and in my fourth floor walk-up, that is no easy task!) and welcome me into the neighborhood.  This morning I walked 15 blocks to one of my favorite coffee shops, Hooked on Colfax, and am enjoying iced coffee in the company of my friends Tracy and Jeff.  This is what life should be about.  Not working yourself to the point of exhaustion.  So that is the Zen of UHaul Towing.  Not to be confused with The Zen of Motorcycle Maintenance, because I don't know how to repair motorcycles.

1 comment:

Joseph Bergantine said...

I'm glad you made it through - poor car and people carrying things upstairs :). I love your new neighborhood - hope the change brings some calm. After a week of living outdoors I haven't even left the house yet today. Probably go do some yoga this evening and stretch out the back after sleeping on a half-inch pad for too long. It was really really great to see you! Hopefully we'll see you again in May.