5.03.2011

Immediacy: A U.S. Plague

I don't know how rampantly immediacy runs in other countries. I would assume any country anywhere near or more affluent than the U.S. has the same problem. I'm talking: I want it, so I'm going to get it now. Right now. No wait. No hold up. This very second.


Shoot. I even find myself being that way at times: I log on to my computer and pull up my browser. If it doesn't produce within a few seconds then I'm mumbling about how slow it is. It may be running slow, which means it may take 30 seconds to pull up. And I complain?! Why? Because I'm so used to getting on and waiting possibly 1-2 seconds.

I would hate to be revisited by a ghost from the 1800s. They would look at us like we're crazy. It could take weeks, sometimes months, before they would even hear of what was going on just 30 miles away. Now we have all that at our fingertips. We can find out within the hour of any major world occurence. And we expect it. And if it's not produced, we pitch fits.

I am constantly haunted by this daily. Patients can call me 4-5 times within one single hour "because I really have to start my antibiotic right away. I spoke with you earlier this morning and it's not at my pharmacy. I thought you were going to call it in."

"Well, sir/ma'am," I say, "there is a process for prescriptions to be sent, even though it's electronic. It may not be until after 5 your prescription will be ready for pick-up. I can assure you we will send it today so that you may hopefully pick it up later today."

1645 hours my phone rings. "Um, yeah I spoke with someone earlier and they told me my prescription would be ready by 5 pm."

HUH?! "That is certainly not what I told you," I want to retort.

Oh if only we could slow down and enjoy the world around us. If we would not be taught "you're going to die if you don't start your meds right away". If we could sit back, enjoy the wonderful blessing of the society we live in even with it's flaws, and take life as it comes without hurrying to rush it along.

I'm going to truly work on that this week. I challenge you to do the same: take time. Realize it's ok to plan but to be ruled by those and let it ruffle your feathers when it doesn't go just as planned is ok. To see that just because you're not getting it right now does not mean you're missing out. Waiting is ok. It's actually good for you. It's a toughy, but try. See where you can get with it.

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