Jan
The Waste of Haste
As a result of my mother-in-law’s passing, there is a lot of work to do preparing for the funeral. My wife’s brother Phil makes anything an exercise in exasperation. He is always in a rush. His frantic antics always cause him problems that set him back. In the wake of his actions, he leaves a lot of minor damage and angry people. Phil reminds me of the Fool of the Tarot: he leaps before he looks.
Phil is a reminder that haste makes waste. There is a difference between being quick and being in a frantic rush. I prefer to take my time and do it right the first time. Phil just rushes as fast as he can, and then ends up taking more than enough time because of all the accidents, mistakes and avoidable blunders.
The Havamal reminds us to look first before we enter a hall. Look before you leap. The few moments that you take to get things right always pay off in a job well done.
