Scott FobesI recently flew to Jamaica with my family and boyfriend for my sister’s wedding. It was single handedly one of the greatest experiences of my life. In only five short days I began to understand the Jamaican way of life. “Yeah mon, no worries,” are words to live by as far as Jamaican’s are concerned.
I never realized how stressful the American hustle and bustle lifestyle could be until I escaped from it for a few days.
One of my pet peeves is when I over hear people competing with each other as to who is the busiest. People compare who stayed up the latest with who has more homework to do and not to mention who has worked the most hours. What is the point of it all? Instead of comparing schedules, why don’t we take that time to get away from the business?
Many people are probably thinking that it must be easy to relax when palm trees and clear blue water surround you, and not to mention the flowing alcoholic drinks. But it was more than that.
It was the cultural ideal that there is no reason to rush.
If you order food or something to drink in Jamaica, don’t be surprised if you stand around waiting for it.
On the other hand, heaven forbid some people wait a few minutes longer at the McDonald’s drive through then they care to and you hear the impatient beeping of horns.
It’s hard to explain, but in Jamaica everything just moves at a slower pace, therefore, the days are a lot less stressful. Just as Bob Marley said, “No worries, be happy. Cause every little thing is gonna be alright.”
There are things that I wanted to do while I was away that I didn’t get the chance to do. But what I did do I enjoyed because there wasn’t this constant thought in the back of my mind about what I was going to do next or how I would squeeze everything into my day. What I did I enjoyed so much because I wasn’t rushing myself.
Saturday night, employees of the resort stayed up until 5:30 a.m. setting up the Halloween festivities for the next day. And when Sunday came around the employees were as chipper as could be.
You didn’t hear one person complaining about being tired or mad about the fact that it took so long to set everything up. The employees were ok with staying up late to set things up because to them it was worth the time. Other things that didn’t get done that day, they felt they could get to at another time.
Before my boyfriend and I checked out, we stopped in the gift store for some last minute souvenirs. Not realizing what time it was, we were late meeting the bus at 9:30 a.m. to take us to the airport. Before we knew it we were being hunted down in the gift store being told that we were late. When I went to square everything away at the front desk, the bus driver honked the horn at me trying to hurry me along. It was at that point that I just simply asked my sister and brother-in-law to take care of things at the desk.
I realized that no matter how much I enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere of Jamaica, I would be returning home to the hustle and bustle.
And sure enough I did. As soon as the plane landed in Philadelphia, people literally went running to claim their luggage. Why? The people that ran had to wait just as long for their luggage as the people who walked and took their time.
I left Jamaica though with a new outlook on life.
I really am going to make an effort to slow down and take my time. If I rush through my day maybe I’ll end up saving 10, 20 or maybe even 30 minutes.
But what is that point of saving that time if at the end of my day I’m exhausted and stressed?
What I need to get done will get done, and if it doesn’t, I can always get to it at another time.
Posted to the Web by: Scott Fobes
